Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
by hollymarie4
Summary: Ashley Davies is a prominent defense attorney in big city Los Angeles, what happens when she is asked to defend one Spencer Dennison accused of mudering her husband Aiden?... Complete!
1. Ashley Davies: Defense Attorney

Hello all you lovely readers. :) This is my new story I've been working on. I almost have it nearly complete, I wanted that before I would post the first chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Let me know if I should continue posting updates or not, they could come every day or every other day.

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"This is all just too much for me, Ashley." She tells me and I roll my eyes. I've heard this speech before. Hundreds of times actually.

I get with a girl, we date for a while, we exchange I love you's and then suddenly my schedule is too much for them to handle.

I should be used to it by now really, but I guess I always see the best in people.

"Look Michelle. It's fine." I say and shrug. "I get it. My lifestyle is too much for you to handle, it's totally fine." I drawl out and smile sarcastically.

She nods and hugs me before saying, "I'm glad you understand baby." And kisses me on the forehead.

"Right." I purse my lips and nod as she grabs her bags and head out the front door.

I sigh and go to the fridge to grab a beer then flop down on my couch.

"Another one bites the dust." I say then hold my beer up in a toast before taking a swig.

–

"I told you it wouldn't last." Jackson says to me as we enter the elevator. I roll my eyes at him and smile.

"You only said that cause you want me for yourself." I tell him pointedly and he shrugs and nods.

"You're right. But come on Davies. I've told you once and I'll tell you again, you're way too hot to be wasting your beauty on one sex. I say live it up a little. Venture out." He says seriously, using hand gestures to get his point across.

Jackson has been trying to get in my pants since the moment I met him on our first day of Law School and although I turned him down, we've been friends ever since. Jackson isn't bad on the eyes either. His 6'5 frame towers over my tiny 5'6 frame. He has green eyes and short black hair that accents his perfectly shaped face. But... I love girls.

"Never gonna happen." I assure him.

"But-"

"Jackson. I loves the pussy and the pussy only. Got it?!" I say sternly and he nods as the elevator dings signaling that we've reached our floor.

"You break my heart Davies." He tells me putting his hand over his heart and smiling.

"I break a lot of hearts." I smile as I walk in the other direction towards my office.

"Good morning Ms. Davies, can I get you a coffee or espresso?" Madison, my secretary asks me.

"A coffee would be marvelous, thank you Madison." I tell her and she nods and smiles.

"Oh, ADA Russell called, he wants to know if you're still on for golf this weekend, Michelle called but she didn't leave a message, and Judge Hallawell called and said that she's going to have to cancel dinner tonight but will call you tomorrow to reschedule." She finishes, handing me my mail and messages.

"Thank you Madison." I say then head into my office. I contemplate calling Michelle but think better of it. I mean, she just broke up with me last night. What could she possibly want not even twenty-four hours later. I take a seat behind my desk and grab and file from the stack of them on my desk.

"Here's your coffee Ms. Davies." Madison says and places the coffee on my desk.

"Thanks." I smile and she nods before exiting my office.

In case you're wondering. No, Madison and I haven't slept together. Okay, once it almost happened after an office party but we were both really drunk and clearly out of our minds but we came to our senses and realized how extremely bad of an idea it was and promptly proceeded to get dressed.

We haven't spoken about it since that day, two years ago.

It's hard enough being the only female attorney in a predominately male oriented field without having all your co-workers thinking you'll fuck anything that moves.

I work at Dean & Keller by the way. The most prestigious law firm... well on the entire west coast. We take on the most high-profile cases. Usually celebrities and people with a shit load of cash to spend on an attorney that will almost always get them off the hook.

Yeah, we're those people.

The people that get people like Lindsey Lohan out of jail and back on the street to do more dumb shit to get locked back up and need us again... it's a vicious cycle really.

But it took me almost a year to get in here. And almost three years after that to become as successful and respected as I am.

So I definitely wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that.

And being what people call a California dime probably does more harm for me than it does good. Most people just see me as a pretty face rather than actual attorney who went to law school, graduated a year early and passed the bar with flying colors.

On the first try, might I add.

But no.

To these guys, I'm the 5'6 brunette with a nice face and a smoking body.

It's only when I open my mouth and speak that they understand I'm not fucking around. I mean business.

After looking through a few files on my desk of cases that I'm thinking of taking on, I whip out my blackberry and send Scott an email letting him know that we are definitely still on for golf this weekend.

"Ms. Davies you have company." Madison tells me through the phones intercom.

"Okay thank you, send them in." I press the button and tell her. A few seconds later a petite brown-haired girl appears in my office.

I motion for her to take a seat and she does. "How can I help you?" I ask the girl who looks at me with a conflicted expression. "Are you in some kind of trouble? Do you need representation?" I ask her and she shakes her head. Well I'm confused.

"It's actually um... my friend." She speaks up after a moment.

"Okay." I say and wait for her to continue.

"She's being blamed for something she didn't do." She shakes her head and looks down.

"Has your friend been taken into custody?" I ask and she nods. "Has she been arraigned?" I ask and she looks at me confused. I think of a way to say it so she can understand. "Has she gone to court at all yet?" I ask and she shakes her head no.

"She just got arrested last night."

"Has bail been set?" I ask and she nods.

"Three hundred thousand." She tells me.

"I see." I nod.

"I um... I got your information from a family friend. I heard you were the best lawyer in California and I... she needs the best." The girl nods firmly to stress her point.

"I didn't get your name, I'm sorry." I realize that we had not exchanged pleasantries.

"I'm Kyla Woods." She sticks out her hand for me to shake.

"Ashley Davies, but I'm sure you already are aware of that." I smile as we release each others hands. "So Ms. Woods, what exactly _didn't_ your friend do that she needs the best representation in California?"

"Well she's um...they think she killed her husband." She tells me and I nod. I've done many cases like this. This would be nothing new.

"I'll take the case." I tell her standing up from my chair. "I'll have my secretary draw up the paper work and-"

"Um... there's something else." She tells me with an apprehensive look. Uh-oh. This is never good. "We don't really have much money, I mean she has money but it's kind of inaccessible at the moment, her being accused of murder and all, so there's no way to actually pay you until the jobs done." She finishes but I stopped listening after 'don't.'

"Ms. Woods, Dean & Keller is one of the best Law Firms in the country...scratch that, we are the best and it's gotten to be that way because we win and we win often, But, winning isn't everything Ms. Woods, winning is nice, don't get me wrong, but getting paid is better." I tell her taking a seat back in my chair. "I'm sorry, we don't do pro bono cases here." I shake my head for emphasis.

"If you would just come with me to meet her, you'll see I promise. She didn't do this Ms. Davies, please, you're the only one that can clear her name for this. She needs the best and you're the best. Please." She begs me again and I chuckle inwardly.

I didn't become the best by letting people guilt trip me into taking on cases that will not put money in my pocket, or gas in my Lamborghini or pay the rent on my ten thousand dollar a month condo in Westwood Village.

"I'm sorry Ms. Woods I wish I could but I'm absolutely swamped." I tell her, pointing out the many files on my desk.

"But you just said a minute ago that you would take the case." She says pointedly and I smirk. She's not gonna back down.

"Okay, I'll go meet this friend of yours but if I go meet her and decide not to take the case still, no more discussion about it, correct?" I ask, getting up and she nods. "Let's head over there now." I say escorting her to the door. "Madison could you reschedule all my meetings this morning, Ms. Woods and I are going to go talk to a potential client."

"Of course, Ms. Davies." Madison replies and picks up the phone to make a call as I usher Kyla towards the elevator.

"Aye yo Ashley, who's the hottie?" I hear Jackson yell from his office down the hall.

"She's out of your league too, Jack, sorry." I tell him and he flips me off as Kyla and I enter the elevator.

"You won't say no after you meet her. I promise." Kyla tells me confidently as the doors of the elevators close and the ding sound tells us that we're headed down.

"I'll be the judge of that." I smile back at her.

The ride to the jail was quick and painless. Hardly any L.A traffic, almost like fate wanted me to get here as quickly as possible. Kyla drove in her car and I drove mine. I got here a good ten minutes before her and was greeted by a mob of media people. Why in the hell would the media be interested in a simple murder case, I think to myself as I wait for Kyla to arrive. Once she did we made our way through the sea of sharks and went inside. Kyla spoke with the officer as I answered a phone call from Madison about an important meeting I have this afternoon.

Whatever Kyla said got the officer to lead us into a interrogation room and he left to I'm assume, retrieve the suspect.

He came back a few moments later with a girl who looked like she hadn't slept in days. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she'd been in here for weeks. But underneath it all you could tell she was a beautiful person, incapable of committing such a crime.

"Ashley Davies." I offer her my hand to shake. She lifts up her hands, that are cuffed together and shakes mine.

"Spencer...Spencer Dennison." She says in a low raspy voice and it could be my pussy talking but I think Kyla was right.

I _would_ be taking this case.


	2. In Over My Head

"So, Spencer," I pause as I scoot my chair closer to the table. Kyla is sitting next to me with a knowing smile. I shake my head and continue. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

She takes a deep breath and starts. "Well, I was taking a nap while Aiden... my husband." She clarifies for my sake. "Was at work. I woke up around 4:45pm and came down stairs for a glass of water and found him laying on the floor with blood all around him." She finishes and looks at me.

"Did you check to see if he was conscious?" I ask and she nods.

"I called his name a few times and I bent down to check if he was breathing and I didn't hear anything so I ran to the kitchen phone and dialed 911." She says and I realize that Madison isn't here with me as she normally would be to take notes so I grab my blackberry from my pocket and type everything she's told me so far.

"What happened after that?" I ask and she sighs.

"The paramedics came and took him away." Is all she tells me. Yeah, this isn't gonna work.

"I'm gonna need a little more detail, Spencer." I tell her and she looks away. "Look," I start, placing my blackberry down on the table. "I'm trying to help you. But I can't do that if you won't tell me your side of the story." I try to stress to her but she continues to look away.

"I don't have money to pay you." She tells me softly.

"I know." She finally brings her gaze back to me. "Let's just say, I'm in a good mood today." I shrug and smile. "Plus your friend here," I thumb in Kyla's direction. "...did a great job to convince me that you're worth it."

"She can be pretty convincing." Spencer says with a smile. "I should probably start over." She says after a moment.

"I'm all ears." I tell her with a smile and she starts telling me the story over from the beginning.

–

"Hi Ashley. Haven't seen you in a couple of weeks, what can I do for you?" Shelby smiles widely at me from behind her desk.

"Well," I start, turning on my Ashley charm. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" I smile brightly at her.

"What kind of favor?" She asks, blowing a bubble with her gum and popping it as she twirls a lock of blonde hair with her index finger.

"Whatever you have in mind." I say with a smirk then wink. She giggles.

"Is there something I can physically do for you?" She asks, leaning forward over the desk.

"As a matter of fact, there is." I tell her softly, our faces merely inches apart.

She smiles before saying, "Anything you want, it's yours."

"Is that right?" I continue to smirk.

"Mhm." She says and nods her head.

"Well, I was wondering if you could make me a copy of the Dennison murder case files?"

She shakes her head. "The DA gave us strict orders to not release the files until after the arraignment."

"But you promised me anything I wanted, Shelby." I point out in raspy voice that causes her to giggle again.

"I did, didn't I?" She asks as she continues to giggle.

"Sure did." I tell her and she nods.

"Okay." She says and leans closer to me, our lips only a few inches apart. "But you can't tell anyone I did this for you. I could get in so much trouble." She whispers to me, stretching the word so.

"I won't tell anyone." I assure her.

"Promise?" She asks me and I smile.

"Scouts honor." I say holding up three fingers for emphasis.

"K." She smiles and saunters away to the file room. She comes back out a few moments later with a thick manilla folder.

"This everything?" I ask and she smile and nods. "Thanks, you're a doll." I tell her and smile my most flirtatious smile.

"Call me." She yells at my retreating figure.

"You know I will." I turn and yell back to her.

No I won't.

–

"Are you crazy?" Jackson asks as he comes into my office.

"Excuse me?" I say, looking up from one of the files in the folder.

"Yes, excuse yourself. What the hell were you thinking Davies?" He asks me once he reaches my desk.

"Am I supposed to know what the hell you're talking about?" I ask him sitting the paper down on my desk and standing up.

"Oh, don't play dumb. You already know how much Keller is looking for an excuse to fire you and you go and do this?"

"Exactly what did I do?" I ask him, still so completely confused at his outburst.

"The Dennison murder. You took that case after Keller turned it down." He tells me and I give him a face.

"I didn't know that..." I laugh a little realizing what is going on. "That little sneaky..." I trail off. Kyla played me. She must have gone to Keller first and when he turned her down she came to me, being the next best choice and all-seeing as though Lucas Dean of Dean and Keller only represents celebrities.

"He's gonna have your head for this, Ash." Jackson tells me taking a seat.

"I didn't know that Keller turned the case down, Jack. I'm not completely insane." I roll my eyes and shake my head at him, taking a seat in the chair next to the one he's occupying.

"So are you gonna drop the case?" He asks and I immediately think back to Spencer's face. Her retelling of that days events. I don't know what it is about her but I believe her. And if there was ever a time when I wanted to get someone off, this would it.

Okay that totally came out wrong.

But you get what I'm saying.

"I'm not dropping the case." I tell him and get up from the chair. "I can't" I add shaking my head.

"Why the hell not?" He asks me, his face contorted in confusion.

"I already told her that I would take it." I say simply and sit on my desk.

"So? Go back and tell her that you can't take on any new cases right now."

"I'm not dropping the case, Jack."

"She's hot isn't she?" He asks me in a knowing tone and the fact that I don't say anything confirms it for him. "Oh my God, Ash. You know she's straight right? I mean, she was married to like a man, whom she then killed." He tells me slowly like I'm a child.

"Allegedly." I correct him.

"Ash, there's so much evidence against her. The investigating detective called it and open and shut case." He shrugs and shakes his head.

"You know that it's never open and shut, Jack." I tell him and he sighs.

"_You_ know losing looks bad on your track record." He tells me as he stands.

"I guess I better not lose then." I tell him and smile. He just shakes his head at me.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Ash." He says and leaves my office.

"Me too, Jack. Me too." I mumble out as I take a seat back at my desk and continue to go over the rest of the case files.

–

After making my way through the mob waiting outside the jail, I went to the front desk.

"I'd like to speak with my client, please." I show my ID to the guard who nods and escorts me to a room. They bring Spencer in, same as before, her hands and feet cuffed together.

"Hi." She says to me as she takes a seat. The guard un-cuffs her hands from her feet cuffs and cuffs them to the table.

"Hi." I reply, and take the file containing her case out of my brief case and place it on the table.

"What's that?" She asks, looking down at the file.

"It's the police report for you case." I tell her and she nods.

"Oh."

"Spencer, is there something you want to tell me?" I ask her and she looks confused.

"I'm not sure what you mean." She shakes her head. I open up the folder to a page I marked.

"The suspects finger prints were found on the gun (a Ruger .22 caliber single action pistol, which belonged to the victim) and the bullet casings, found scattered around the floor near the victims body. Numerous witnesses say they heard a man and a woman shouting before a blonde woman was spotted running from the home after gunshots were fired. They found his blood on the bottom of your shoes as well as all over your clothes and hands. There were no broken windows or door frames and none of the locks seemed to have been tampered with. Which means either the suspect was already inside or the victim knew the suspect, and felt comfortable enough to let them in." I finish reading the words off the paper and look up at her. She has a conflicted look on her face. Probably the first time she's heard of the mountain evidence they have against her. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"I didn't kill my husband." She shakes her head and says.

"That's not what I'm asking." I tell her and she gives me another confused look.

"Most of the evidence is circumstantial, I can convince a jury that you came in contact with the gun prior to the murder. But, I don't like surprises Spencer. I need you to be sure that you tell me everything. No matter how small you may think a detail is, I want to know." I tell her and she nods.

"I don't have any secrets." She tells me firmly. I nod and stand up.

"Okay then."

"That's it?" She asks, trying to stand up as well, but the cuffs around her hands, that are connected to the table pull her back down.

"I'll be back tomorrow for your arraignment and then we'll go from there." I tell her and smile as I make my way to the door and knock for the guard to come open it.

"Ashley..." Spencer calls to me as the guard opens the door.

"Yeah?" I turn around and look at her. She has her head down on the table.

"I didn't do this." She says and pauses. "You're gonna prove that right?" She asks lifting her head up and looking at me.

I give her a small smile and say... "Of course." With that I exit the room and walk out the building towards my Lamborghini.

Jackson was right.

What have I gotten myself into?


	3. The Arraignment

I'm really glad that everyone enjoyed the first couple of chapters. The reviews were awesome. I have totally completed writing this story as of last night so I can't wait to get it all out for you guys to read and hopefully enjoy. :) Review and let me know your thoughts and predictions. I love reading them! Thanks again for checking out my story.

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"Here we are again, Davies." Scott says to me as we both walk towards the courtroom.

"Uh-huh." I reply with a smile. Scott and I have been friends since Law School and he hates that I took a job as Defense Lawyer, 'defending scumbags' as he put it.

"You see the vultures?" He asks me, referring to the media waiting outside the courthouse. I nod. "You know this is an open and shut case right?"

"You know you told me that last time I won that case against you, right?" I say to him then laugh a little.

"Touché." He chuckles as we enter the court room.

"Fifteen years, she'll be out in ten." He tells me and I give him a look.

"Not gonna happen, Scott." I tell him. He shakes his head and smiles.

"The case against her is rock solid."

"Circumstantial at best and you know it." I tell him as I place my briefcase on the table and take out a few papers.

"You've always been a stubborn one, Davies." He tells me as he mimics my actions.

"And that's why I've never lost a case."

"There's a first time for everything." He tells me, getting in his serious lawyer mode, reading over some papers he just took out of his briefcase.

I waited as they ushered Spencer into the courtroom for her bail hearing. Judge Matthenson would be the Judge residing over this case and I don't think I could have gotten a tougher Judge.

He really isn't the type of Judge that you want to piss off and he's notorious for treating women harshly. Yup, this going to be a piece of cake. I say to myself sarcastically and shake my head as Spencer is placed beside me by the court officer.

"Hey." She greets me with a worried look on her face.

"Hey." I reply with a slight smile. I can tell she's scared. I'm going to see if I can get bail reduced but the charges against her will make that highly unlikely.

"Ashley, I just wanna say again how grateful I am that you took this case. I know you didn't have-"

"Stop." I cut her off. "It was no problem." I shake my head. "Really." I assure her.

"Still." She leans closer to me and says. "Thank you." She whispers and my heart jumps.

"I um..." I stop and clear my throat. "It's no problem." I tell her again and she smiles.

"Ashley." She breathes out and I mumble a hmm. "You're-" She starts but gets cut off by the bailiff.

"Please rise." The bailiff instructs the courtroom as the Judge enters. Yeah, just what I needed, he looks aggravated already.

"Please be seated." Judge Matthenson says.

"Court is in session. Judge Frank Matthenson residing." The bailiff adds.

"Felony Arraignment of Spencer Dennison. The Los Angeles Police Department has filed a complaint for case number LA12-0035-7 for one count of Murder in the First Degree in violation of California Penal Code 187 that Spencer Dennison on September 16th 2012 did purposely cause the death of another intentionally, through the use of a firearm." The Judge finishes reading the complaint and looks up from his paper. I glance over at Spencer and I can tell she's about to cry. "How does the defendant plead in this matter?" He asks and I answer.

"Not guilty your honor." I tell him and I swear I heard him scoff.

"Very well, the court date is set for three weeks from today. Bail will remain at three hundred thousand..."

"Your honor my client is not a flight risk. She has ties to the community and has no money at her disposal. I request she be released on her own recognizance." I say and Scott immediately stands to object.

"Your honor the defendant is accused of murdering her own husband in cold blood. She is a danger to the community and possibly to herself. I request that bail be revoked and she be retained in custody until the hearing." He says and I rebuttal.

"Your honor my client is a respected member of the community who has done countless charity events and fundraisers. She is not a danger to the community or herself." I try and assure the Judge.

"I neither care nor am I even a little bit interested in the charity events Mrs. Dennison has held Ms. Davies, she is accused of murder and bail is at my discretion." He tells me, picking up his gavel. "Bail remains at three hundred thousand."He says then bangs his gavel.

"All rise." The bailiff tells us as Judge Matthenson retreats to his chambers.

Shit.

"I'm sorry." I turn and tell Spencer. "I really thought I would be able to get him to at least lower your bail." I shake my head as I stuff a view papers back in my brief case and button the top button on my suit jacket.

"It's okay. I don't care about staying here." She shrugs and smiles a bit. "As long as we win." She adds as I grab my briefcase off the desk.

"No worries." I tell her with a smile as the court officer comes and starts pulling her away. She gives me a small smile before disappearing behind the door.

"Last chance to take my offer Davies." Scott tells me with a smile as he stuffs his briefcase."

"Not a chance Scott." I tell him and he chuckles, walking over to me.

"I don't think losing would look good on this pretty face of yours." He says as he reaches me, putting a finger under my chin.

I slap his hand away. "Too bad losing will look so good on yours." I smirk and start to walk away.

"May the best _man_ win." He yells at my retreating figure.

"I always do." I throw back.

–

"Madison I need you to pull the financial records for Aiden and Spencer Dennison for the past five years as well as the phone records for both. Oh, and I need you to get me the name of everyone that works at Vivid Candi Marketing Firm." I tell Madison as I make my way into my office.

"Yes, Ms. Davies." She tells me, quickly getting up from her desk to do what I've asked.

I take a seat at my desk and let out a puff of air, blowing my bangs up. This case is gonna to be a lot harder than I had anticipated.

–

"Ms. Davies." Madison shakes me awake.

"Hmm?" I ask, lifting my head up from the desk. I must have dozed off.

"I have the information you requested." She tells me, placing the files down in front of me.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"A little after seven." She tells me and I shoot up from my desk.

"Shit. I'm late." I say starting to gather up all the papers on my desk frantically.

"Late for what?" Madison asks, confused as she helps me gather up my papers as well.

"Dinner." I say and throw on my suit jacket. "With Judge Hallawell." I tell her and her face turns to one of understanding. Judge Hallawell, although we've been friends for a couple of years now, does not like to be kept waiting. Especially if I didn't call in advance and inform her that I would be late.

"Just go." Madison tells me straightening out my hair and fixing my collar. "I'll drop these off at your condo on my way home." She tells me with a smile as she takes the briefcase from my hands.

"Thank you." I give her an appreciative smile and practically run out of my office.

–

"You're late." Judge Margret says to me as I take a seat at the table she'd been occupying for at least the past half hour.

"I know I'm sorry. I'm working on this big case and I got caught up in my work." I tell her. It wasn't a total lie.

"It's quite alright." She says after a moment with a smile. I return the smile as the waiter comes over and takes our drink orders. She orders the most expensive wine on the menu and he scurries off to go get it.

"Margret that's really not necessary." I assure her and she shakes her head at me.

"It's quite alright. We're celebrating anyways." She tells me and I give her a quizzical look.

"What exactly are we celebrating?" I question as the waiter returns with the wine and wine glasses. He opens the bottles and pours us both a glass.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" The waiters asks politely.

"We'll both have the Filet Mignon with the sides of potatoes and asparagus." Margret orders for us and hands the menus back to the waiter who nods and smiles before walking away.

"So what are we celebrating?" I ask again and she smiles brightly.

"My divorce." She answers after a moment. "It was finalized this morning." She says as her hand comes across the table and lands on top of mine.

I know what you're thinking.

And you're only partially right.

"Oh." Is all I say as Margret continues to beam at me. She's been in the process of divorcing her husband for almost a year now and when we met she instantly took a liking to me. And after she found out I was gay... well, that did it. We became friends but things never progressed past that. I told her that I wouldn't sleep with a married woman. So after a year, she filed for a divorce. And the divorce has taken a little less than a year to come through. Mr. Hallawell wouldn't sign the papers. Wait does she think...

"I was thinking that maybe after dinner we could head back to my place. Maybe for dessert." She says in a low tone. I sigh inwardly. Don't get me wrong, Margret isn't bad looking by a long shot. She's 42, with long black hair and gray eyes, only a few wrinkles that cover only her forehead. She likes to keep in shape so her body is nice. But the problem is she isn't my type. I've always been a sucker for blondes.

"Sure." Is what falls from my lips. Sometimes in this business you have to do things you don't want to do. But having a Judge in your back pocket, well that can come in handy and _has, _quite a few times.

So you grin and bear it.

Even if it does suck...


	4. Right and Wrong Choices

Are you guys enjoying the story so far? Review and let me know... I enjoy reading them. Here's the next update.

* * *

Everything you do in life leads you to another moment. Whether it's the right or wrong thing well... who _really_ knows that?

–

"You finally hit that didn't you?" Jackson asks me as I pour myself another glass of wine. I called him after leaving Margret's house, needing a friend to confide in. I purse my lips and nod. "I knew it!" He shouts and takes another gulp of his wine. "So how was it?" He asks and I shake my head.

"I'm not doing this with you, Jack." I get up from my seat on the stool at my bar, picking up my wine glass and walking over to the couch.

"Seriously, Ash? She's been trying to get in your pants for what like two years now and you're not gonna tell me how it was?" He asks as he takes a seat next to me on the couch.

"You were looking forward to this conversation?" I ask him and he nods.

"Ew, Jack." I make a disgusted face at him.

"Well, she's hot, you're hot... what's the problem?" He asks seriously and I can't help but laugh at him.

"You're a doucebag." I spit out and he chuckles.

"So how's the case coming along?" He asks. I take another sip of wine before placing my glass on the table and getting up to go fetch my briefcase.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor." I ask him as I come back into the living room.

"I have a feeling I have no choice in the matter." He says with a smile, placing his glass next to mine. "What is it?"

"Well..." I start, taking a file from my briefcase. "I was wondering if you could get me any information you can on this phone number." I have friends in high places in the courtroom, he has friends in high places in Law Enforcement. See why our friendship flourishes although he's a doucebag? I hand him a file with the number written on it.

"And why exactly am I doing this?" He asks, raising a brow.

"Well when I was going over Aiden Dennison's phone records this number was on there twice a day everyday at the same time. And it was never an incoming call, always outgoing." I tell him and he nods, picking up his wine glass again.  
"You think this number will help you with this case?" He asks after taking another sip of wine.

"Not sure yet." I shrug.

"I'll see what I can do." He tells me placing the file on the table. "Ash, I gotta ask..." He trails off. I roll my eyes already knowing what he's about to say. "What are you doing? I mean, I get that the chick is hot, I saw pictures of her on the news, but come on. She did this and you know it. There's no way you can win this case." He shakes his head for emphasis.

He's probably right. I probably won't win. But it won't be from lack of trying.

"You weren't there, Jack. You didn't see her face." I shake my head at the thought of Spencer in cuffs. "She's so convincing. I mean hell, she has me convinced she didn't do it and I'm definitely not easily convinced. Maybe she can convince a jury too." I say and get up. "Jack." I say and look away from him.

"Ash, I-" He starts, knowing what I was going to ask him.

"I need you here, Jack. I need you on my team." I nod and plead with my eyes.

"Don't you do this to me, Ashley. Don't give me those eyes." He says standing up.

"I can't win this case without you." I tell him honestly. Don't get me wrong I'm a great lawyer, but a great lawyer can only become great by admitting when they need help.

"Ugh!" He groans out. "Fine." He says after a moment. "But only if you promise to sleep with me." He says and looks at me expectantly.

"In your dreams." I tell him and playfully punch him in the arm.

He shrugs, "It was worth a shot." ...and smiles. "So what do we know so fa-" His sentenced is interrupted by a knock at my door. "Expecting company?" He asks and I shake my head before walking over to the door. I open it to find...

"Michelle." I breathe out.

"Hey." She replies in a low tone.

"What are you... why..." I shake my head to clear my thoughts. "What do you want?" I ask in a harsh tone, realizing she just broke up with me two days ago.

"Can I come in?" She asks and I shake my head. "Please Ashley, I just want to talk." She tells me and I clench my jaw and look away.

I've had girls walk out on me before.

Plenty.

But none have ever come back.

"Why should I talk to you?" I ask her, looking straight into her eyes.

"Ash you okay?" Jackson asks from his place on the couch.

"Yeah." I throw over my shoulder to him.

"Ashley please, just ten minutes. That's all I'm asking." She tells me in a pleading tone. Her eyes tell me she's been crying with out her actually having to say it. I sigh and drop my head; opening my door wider so she could enter my condo.

"Jack could you..." I trail off and he hurriedly jumps up from the couch and starts gathering his things.

"Yeah, no problem." He says as he makes his way to the door. "Call me, for anything..." He nods once and I nod and smile back before he leaves. I close the door behind him as Michelle makes her way over to my couch and sits down.

"What is this?" I ask as I take a seat next to her on the couch.

"This is me apologizing." She says and stares at me intently.

"So, let me get this straight..." I start, squinting my eyes at her and laughing a little. "You expecting to just come in here and tell me you're sorry and expect me to take you back?" I ask astonished, getting up from the couch.

"No, Ash that's not it." She says standing too.

"Then what is it, Michelle. Please, fucking enlighten me."

"I missed you and I realized how big of a mistake it was to letting you go. I need you in my life, Ashley. I love you and it was stupid of me to break up with you because you have a career. I'm sorry." She finishes and moves closer to me. I let out a contrived laugh.

"Fuck you, Michelle. You don't get to come in here and say you're sorry and expect me to just forget all the things you said, two fucking days ago. You remember that right?" I snap and she just nods sadly. "Just get out please." I shake my head and start walking towards the door.  
"I can't." She says softly behind me. I turn around to see she's still standing in the same spot with her eyes glued to the floor. Her tiny five foot frame makes her look so small and helpless, almost like a lost child.

"Michelle." I say in a warning tone. I need her to leave. She can't be here playing with my emotions.

"Ashley, I can't." She says again. This time looking up at me shaking her head.

"And why the he-" My words are cut off by her lips. I wanna push her back, off of me... away from me. But I can't. I kiss her back with just as much force has my pleas for her to leave had. We slowly make our way to my bedroom, undressing as we journey there. I've never been good with breakups. I used to be the heart breaker back in the day but I fell for this girl my first year of Law School and she changed pretty much everything about me when it came to relationships. And now, well now I'm the one that's always getting my heart-broken.

"I love you." She breaks our kiss and moans out in a raspy voice. But I don't say it back. I don't give her that satisfaction. This is purely about the sex for me, I keep telling myself over and over. And she doesn't seem to mind because she's still kissing me in spite of it.

You know those wrong and right things I was telling you about earlier... Well I'm almost certain that this is definitely one of those wrong things...

–

"Shit." I say when I roll over and see Michelle on my side. I pinch the bridge of my nose before rolling out of bed and getting ready for work.

"Baby." She calls out to me as she stirs awake. Fuck! I was hoping to make a clean getaway.

"I have to go to work." I say coldly. This really doesn't mean I want to get back with her.

In fact, I think it only proved further that we don't belong together.

"Kay." She smiles and gets up from my bed, slowly making her way over to me. "I'll be here when you get back." She smiles and leans forward to kiss me.

"I'd prefer if weren't." I tell her, moving back before she could kiss me.

"Ashley." She says in a pleading tone.

"Don't be here when I get back, Chelle." I say simply before walking away. I hear Michelle calling my name as I leave.

I contemplate turning around, giving in to her... but I know that what I'm doing is what's best for me.

–

"That number you told me to look into." Jackson says coming into my office, shutting the door behind him. "Well, it's untraceable. Prepaid phone probably. No way of tracking who it belonged to." He tells me and I sigh.

"So much for that then."

"Was that the only lead you were working on for this case, Davies?" He asks and when I don't answer he smiles. "I guess you really did need my help huh?"

"I had Madison make you a copy of all the case files." I say handing him the folder. "I really need a new perspective on this." I tell him and he nods.

"I'll see what I can do." He says and leaves my office.

Maybe paying a visit to Spencer will help.

–

"I didn't expect to see you again until next week." She tells me with a smile as the guard hooks her cuffs to the table.

"I like to drop in often with my clients." I tell her and she smiles wider.

"Anything I can help you with?" She asks and I nod; taking the file from my briefcase.

"Do you recognize this number?" I ask, showing her the paper.  
"No." She shakes her head. "Should I?" She looks up at me.

"No." I shrug and put the paper away. "It's just something I'm following up on." I tell her. I pause, realizing that was all I had to ask her.

"Surely you didn't come all this way to ask me about a number, did you?" She smiles and I can't help but smile back at her. I rack my brain for something else to ask her.

"I um... I actually..." I trail off and go through my brief case looking for something...anything to help me out of this, now awkward, situation.

"Counselor?" She says and I look up at her. She licks her lips unconsciously and smiles and I do my best to suppress a moan.

"You um..." I clear my throat and begin again. "Could you just walk me through that day again, leading up to the discovery of your husbands body." I tell her taking a notebook from my case.

"Of course." She smiles and starts to tell me again what happened.

I'm lawyer for goodness sake... and a damn good one. It's my job to stay cool and calm in high pressure situations.

I don't get flustered.

What the hell is this woman doing to me?


	5. Attorney 'No No's'

Wifey says I'm posting too fast, that I'm not allowing you guys time to review each chapter and fully saveur this story... lol. Do you guys agree? Either way, here's the next update.

* * *

"You know, falling for your client is Attorney 'no no', right?" Jackson says pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I mumble, looking up at him. He smiles and nods at the picture in my hand. "You've been staring at that for the past half hour." Jackson and I decided to stay late and go over some important details of the case. We're doing everything we can to find any loose ends or holes to poke in the District Attorney's case. We've been at this for over four hours and I'm beat. After that talk with Spencer yesterday and the way my heart... let's just say I was thinking about passing the case off to a colleague. But then I pictured her face in my head. The disappointment. I couldn't do it. Plus I made a promise.

"Oh, I um..."

"Save it for someone who'll believe it." He tells me and takes the picture out of my hand.

"She is one fi-"

"Shut it!" I tell him, snatching the picture back. He holds up his hands defensively and smiles.

"We've been at this forever, Ash. When are we going to call it a night?" He asks and I sigh. He's right, we're finding it really hard to find anything to give the jury doubt.

"If she ran from the house, why would she have come back not even ten minutes later to call an ambulance? Why not just keep running?" I ask aloud, more so to myself than anything.

"Say what?" Jackson asks, looking up from the file he was reading. I rifle through the stack of papers on my desk to find the eyewitness statement.

"The neighbor across the street said that she heard arguing and then a gun shot at 4:30pm. If Spencer was the person fleeing from the scene, how'd she get back inside the house without the neighbors seeing?" I ask, looking up from the paper to Jackson.

"The back door?" He asks in a questioning tone.

"You think the jury will buy that if Scott tries it?"

"Hard to say." Jackson shrugs.

"It just doesn't make any sense." I take off my reading glasses and place them on the desk, pinching the bridge of my nose. I could feel a headache coming on.

"You're gonna over work yourself ash." Jackson says standing up from the chair. "You should go home and get some rest, we can pick this up tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right." I nod and start to gather up the mess of papers on my desk. "Spencer's parent's house in the morning, you coming?" I ask and he nods.

"See you tomorrow, Davies." He says before yawning and walking out my office.

"Night, Jack." I yell after him.

I can't say that I wasn't thankful that night when I got home and Michelle wasn't there. For once she'd listened to me. But I also can't say that I didn't miss the company. I warm body next to me...

–

"Spencer has always been a shy person. She didn't have many friends growing up, mostly kept to herself." Spencer's mother Paula, told me as she held a picture of her daughter in her hand. Jackson and I came over first thing in the morning to get some background on Spencer. Trying to prove moral fiber. That there was no possible way Spencer could have committed a crime of this nature.

"Mrs. Carlin, has Spencer ever talked to you about having troubles in her marriage or wanting to get a divorce?" I ask and Jackson's eyes shoot to mine.

What?

This is strictly professional.

"Oh no. Spencer was as happy as ever. Her and Aiden are happy...we're happy." She corrects herself as Mr. Carlin emerges from the kitchen with a tray holding four glasses of lemonade and a pitcher.

"They married right out of high school." He picks up where his wife left off as he hands Jackson and I a glass. "They were so happy on their wedding day. Spencer could hardly keep it together. I had to practically carry her down the aisle." He smiles and stands up. He walks over to the mantle, taking a picture off and walks back over to us. "They were hopelessly in love." He says as he hands me a photo of Spencer and Aiden on their wedding day. She really does look happy.

"How often did you and your daughter speak?" I hear Jackson ask as I continue to stare at the picture. She has one of the purest smiles I've ever seen. Like a warm summer evening, the sun is setting causing the reddish-orange sky to light the city. So beautiful...

"Everyday." Mrs. Carlin answers as I hand Mr. Carlin back the photo.

"Did you speak to her on that day?" I ask and she nods.

"Mhm, around noon. She'd just gotten home from the grocery store and she said that she was calling to check on me because she kept getting this bad feeling all morning." I stare at Mrs. Carlin intently. "I've got blood pressure issues." She answers my unasked question.

"Mr. & Mrs. Carlin, the case that the Districts Attorney's office has built against your daughter is very strong." I tell them. "If there is anything, absolutely anything else you guys could tell us to help your daughter..." I trail off and look at them. They share a look with each other before looking back at me.

"Spencer, our baby." She pauses and I can see the tears building in her eyes. "She couldn't harm a fly. She is the most loving and caring person you'll ever meet. She didn't do this." Mrs. Carlin says shaking her head. "Our baby girl didn't kill her husband." She reiterates and I nod.

"Thank you for your time." I tell them, holding out my hand as Jackson and I both stand from the couch.

"Thank you, Ms. Davies." Mr. Carlin says as he shakes my hand, looking me square in the eyes. "Our daughter told us how you're taking on this case although you're not being compensated, you don't know how much that means to us." He tells me as he releases my hand.

"It's no problem sir." I tell him as I shake Mrs. Carlin's hand. "We'll be in touch." I say as Jackson shakes their hands.

"Thank you again." Mr. Carlin tells us as we leave the house.

"Where to now?" Jackson asks once we're inside the car.

"Take me back to the office to get my car, I'm gonna meet you at the coroner's office okay?" I say and he nods. He drops me off to pick up my car and I immediately head to the jail to see Spencer.

–

"I spoke with your parent's today." I tell her and she lets a small smile creep on to her lips. "They're nice people." I add and she nods and smiles wider.

"How's the case going?" She asks after a moment of silence.

"We've hit a couple of dead ends." I tell her honestly and she looks down. "But we're following some new leads." I add and she nods solemnly. "Spencer how was your marriage?" I ask, wanting to hear her side of things.

"We were fine." She says simply but I can tell there's more.

"Spencer..." I say in a tone that begs her to continue. She licks her lips and sighs.

"Being a stay at home wife wasn't my ideal perfect life." She starts, lifting both her hands (because they were cuffed together) to scratch her forehead. "Aiden wasn't home a lot. And when he was home, he was mostly consumed in his work. I'd learn to deal with it." She shakes her head and shrugs it off.

"So there weren't any plans for a divorce in your future or anything?"

"No." She says firmly. "I don't believe in divorce I think that all problems are solvable." She adds and I look away.

"Okay." I nod and stand up from the table.

"There is something else though." She says looking up at me. I take a seat back in the chair.

"I think that Aiden may have had an affair." She breathes out and my eyes go wide. I was not expecting that.

"How do you know?" I ask in a low voice. She shrugs and smiles.

"A woman's intuition I guess." If she's right, that gives us another angle to examine.

"Thank you, Spencer." I say standing up from my chair again.

"For what?" She asks, confusion written all over her face.

"Telling me the truth." I tell her and she smiles. I knock on the door for the guard to let me out.

"Ashley." Spencer calls to me.  
"Yeah?" I turn around and look at her, she smiles widely at me.

"Please do visit more often, you're the only person I'm allowed to see and not have to sit on the other side of a glass window." She says and shyly turns away.

"Don't worry, you'll be seeing me so much, you'll get tired of looking at me." I tell her playfully and she chuckles a bit as she brings her gaze back to mine.

"I doubt that." She says softly as the guard opens the door. I go to speak but my words get caught in my throat. So I opt to smile and back my way out of the room.

I shake my head to clear it and go meet up with Jackson...


	6. Mistrust

I'm glad you guys don't think I'm posting too fast lol. Keep the reviews coming like that and maybe I'll post twice a day lol. I really enjoy reading all your reviews and some of you even have theories already. :) Will see who was right in the end.

**Cornish: **That's a good guess. But It won't be revealed until the last few chapters. I would love to hear more theories as the story goes on though! :)

**Sgarc12: **I'm glad you like the storyline so far. Good guess...we'll see :)

**Amy:** I love AU fics too! I think I've only read a couple that actually kept the story line of the show. SoN, the TV show, wasn't as open and stuff and like the fact that AU fics have more depth to them.

**lilce1992: **Well I'd say that's extremely good news for me lol. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I wrote for five days straight to finish it before I posted it. I'm glad that there are people who actually read and like it.

**pati1996: **Next update coming right up!

**Claas: **That's exactly what I told my gf. She said that you guys needed time to post your reviews and such and that when I post too fast I don't allow you all time to do that.

**Tam24: **Unfortunately, pretty much all the chapters will be the same length. I'm sorry..

**ashleyss27: **lol now where's the fun it that? I gotta give you time to digest one chapter before I post another one. And I believe that one day in between is adequate...don't you think?

**lovely:** Idk. Maybe she did...maybe she didn't... lol

**Ohsoclever1: **I know your theories... lol. I'm keeping my mouth shut to not give aaaaanything away. :)

**Msblaze: **Your comments about me posting to fast have made everyone a little upset at you lol. So stop saying it. And you call that a review? smh. You gotta do better than that baby.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Jackson asks as I make my way into the coroner's office, an hour after he'd arrived.

"I had to make a stop." I tell him and shrug. "Can we just do this now please?" I ask holding my hand in the direction of the coroner's office.

"Fine." He says and playfully rolls his eyes.

"Ah, Ms. Davies to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need some info Jeff. I was hoping you could help me out." I smile brightly at him.

"Of course, of course." He tells me standing up from the chair he was sitting in. Jeff has been a coroner for over thirty years, back when my dad was a lawyer they were friends. Jeff practically watched me grow up. After my dad died a few years ago, Jeff sorta took me in, figuratively speaking of course. And I think I've grown so much closer to him.

A lawyer's schedule you know...

"I was wondering if you'd done the autopsy on the Aiden Dennison murder?" I ask and he gives me a small smile before bending down in front of his computer and typing something.

"Mhm. I completed it last night." He tells me standing straight up.

"I was kind of wondering if I could get a copy of it." I ask timidly. Jeff laughs before walking around his desk to me.

"You're just like your father you know." He says placing a hand on my cheek. "Always looking for an advantage." He smiles before pinching my cheek. "Let me get those copies for you." He scurries out of the office.

After Jeff made copies we headed back to the office to go over the autopsy findings.

–

"He was shot three times; once in the hand, chest and back. He didn't have any defensive wounds. Which means he didn't try to fight back."

"Does that prove he knew the victim?" Jack asks me.

"Most likely." I nod.

"Okay so, are we assuming that he was shot in the hand first, maybe trying to shield himself from the attacker. Like a hand can stop a gun. " Jackson scoffs and shakes his head.

"Jack, don't be an ass. The guys dead." I shoot back to my friend who rolls his eyes and continues with his analysis.

"He was then shot in the chest and the back. You got a blood splatter expert on this?"

"Getting one." I answer and nod.

"Only two bullet casings were found though right?" Jack looks up from the coroners report and asks me.

I search through the mountain of papers on my desk for the police report to confirm. "Yeah." I nod.

"If he was shot three times, where's the other casing?" He asks. "What about the bullet, was that recovered?"

I skim over the police report and shake my head. "No. They couldn't find it at the scene."

"The other two were still in him though." He says reading from the coroners report. "According to this, the bullet must have gone straight through his hand, grazed his neck and kept going."

"The police never recovered that bullet." I tell him with a look of joy on my face.

"We've got to find it." He says with a nod and I nod along with him in agreement.

After going over some more details and pulling information together Jack left to get us lunch.

As I'm looking over the first responder on the scene's statement, my phone rings.

"Hello." I answer.

"Fifteen and she serves twelve. That's the best I can do." I smile.

"Not happening Scott." I tell him through a chuckle.

"I think you should reconsider." He tells me in a serious tone. I sit up in my chair and clear my throat. Scott only ever gets serious when he has something that could seal the case for him.

"And why is that?" I ask in the same tone.

"This is my last offer, Ashley." He says and I can hear papers rustling in the background.

"No deal, Scott." I tell him.

"Well, I guess we're going to court." He says in a condescending tone.

"I guess we are." I reply and hang up. I sit back in my chair and think for a minute. What could Scott have found that would make him so confident he can win this case? Against me, of all people. I shoot up from my chair and practically run out my office. "Madison could you get me a copy of Aiden Dennison's insurance policy, through his job as well as any others he might have taken out."

"Right away, Ms. Davies." Madison says wasting no time. I go back into my office and sit down. I hope my hunch is wrong because if I'm right... we've all but lost this case.

"I've got food." Jackson says coming into my office. "What's wrong with you?" He asks, once he sees my face.

"I'm not sure yet." I tell him, keeping my eyes on the door; waiting for Madison's return.

"Okay." He says stretching out the word as he takes a seat. "Here's your Turkey on Rye." He hands me my sandwich. Suddenly, I'm not so hungry. "Ash, what the hell is going on?" He asks as he sits back in his chair and bites his sandwich.

"Here you are Ms. Davies." Madison says coming into my office and handing me the documents I asked for. I quickly read over them while Jackson stares at me confused.

"Fuck!" I yell out in frustration as I hurriedly gather some papers together and stuff them in to my briefcase.

"Ash, what the hell?" Jackson asks, holding his arms up in confusion.

"I have to go do something, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Just keep working on the um... just... I'll be back." I tell him then scurry out of my office. The elevator couldn't come fast enough, the LA traffic couldn't move fast enough. Almost an hour later I'm where I need to be, waiting for them to bring Spencer in.

"Hi." She smiles at me as she's cuffed to the table. I wait for the guard to finish before I say anything. But she notices that I'm not smiling and her smile fades. "What's wrong?" She asks, knitting her eyebrows together.

"The other day when I came here, what'd I ask of you? The only thing I asked of you, Spencer?" I say and she shakes her head confused. "I asked you to be honest with me. To not lie to me. To tell me everything, no matter how small you may think it is. As your attorney I still wanted to know right? We had this conversation right?" I asks sarcastically and she nods, still confused. "Then you wanna tell me what the hell this is?" I ask, tossing the paper in front of her. She looks down at it and her eyes go wide before they reconnect with mine.

"I..." She pauses and shakes her head. "I had no idea." She tells me.

"You expect me to believe that?" I ask in a harsh tone.

"Ashley, I swear to you. I knew nothing about this." She tells me again with conviction in her voice.

"Your husband took out a two million dollar policy, that in the event he died, you'd be the beneficiary and you didn't know?" I ask and she gives me a disgusted look. Like how could I even for a second believe that she would kill someone for money. The look then turns to hurt.

"If you think that I would murder my husband for money, then you don't know me at all." She shakes her head and I can see her eyes build up with tears. Her jaw clenches and un-clenches. "Maybe I should just get a public defender." She says softly and looks away from me.

"No." I say quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that you..." I shake my head. "The DA's office is gonna eat this up, Spencer. The ADA already called me practically singing his victory song. A wealthy Marketing Exec takes out a two million dollar policy and five days later he's murdered, you see how that is going to look to a jury?" I ask her and she nods. "He never once told you about this policy?" I ask her again. She looks at me intently before shaking her head. "I need to find a way to prove that." I explain to her. "The media are gonna have a field day with this." I sigh out and sit back in the chair.

"Ashley." Spencer calls my name and I look up at her. "I don't care what other people think, I know that I didn't kill my husband." She says softly and I can't help the small smile that escapes my lips.

"You have to care, Spencer." I chuckle a little. "You're on trial for it. That means these other people who you don't care about, they hold your life in their hands. These people decide whether you spend the rest of your life in prison." I tell her and she smiles at me. At a time like this, when I'm telling her that she could never see the other side of these prison walls again, she smiles at me.

"What do you think?" She asks and I give her a quizzical look. "Do you think I did it? Would you believe me if you were on the jury?" She asks.

"It doesn't matter what I believe." I tell her honestly.

"It does to me." She says and my heart nearly jumps out my chest. This woman... I can't even describe it. She makes you want to believe in the system, that it works. That innocent people like her don't get sent to prison for things they didn't do. But we all know that it happens.

"I believe you." I nod and she smiles.

"Then let's convince a jury." I look at her as she smiles at me. And I mean like really look at her. Her ocean blue eyes scream innocence and her blonde hair accentuates the perfection that is her face. She's beautiful. Beyond it really.

"Ashley?" She calls my name snapping me from my thoughts. I love the way she says my name.

"Yeah?" I ask, sitting up in the chair and clearing my throat.

"You okay?" She asks and smiles.

No... no I'm not okay.

Definitely not okay.

"Yeah." I nod and smile. "Everything's fine."


	7. Uncertainty

Here's the next chapter. I actually really like posting every day. It gives me something to look forward too. Reading your reviews and all. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this so far and my goal was to keep it as cryptic as possible until the last few chapters. Which hopefully I have done. Thanks for reading and enjoy :)

**FFReviews**: I'm glad you're really getting into it! I hope that I can keep the level of interest up so you can stick with it.

**pati1996**: That's what I like to hear. Lol. I don't want you guys to know who did it until the last couple of chapters. Glad I'm doing something right.

**guest**: You don't think she did it. but you think she knows who did... that's a good theory lol :)

**lovely**: can I could reel you in.

**Cornish**: I guess you'll just have to wait and see then. You may change your mind in a few chapters though.

**Ohsoclever1**: Most of the time in law firms, when they have high profile cases they drop everything for that one. that's what's been done in this instance. :)

**ashleyss27**: Can't do it... just caaaaaant do it lol

**Mimi**: Ashley is a workaholic and she looooves it. But you're right she does need a break. This case especially is definitely getting to her.

**LoveAsh87**: Thank you very much! And honestly cant wait for you guys to find out either.

**CR00**: lol nice analogy.

**southtrash**: Ahhh. Why thank you kindly lol.

**PurpleLover92**: All is forgiven, seeing as though I owe you about five reviews which I promise to get to. That's a heck of a guess. We'll see how it plays out! :)

**Tam24**: Maybe Spencer is playing the poor widow. You'll have to keep reading to find out though :0

* * *

"Oh fuck yes, right there!" The woman screams out as I pump in and out of her. "Just like that baby, oh my God, yes." She screams/moans out as her orgasm overcomes her. I take my fingers out of her and straighten out my clothes. Fuck that was great." She breathes out. I sit on my bed and sigh.

"You should leave." I tell her and she sits up.

"But baby, I haven't even returned the favor yet." She leans close to me and says in a seductive tone.

I turn and look at her.

"Could you just go please." I ask the woman whose name I have yet to get. I know what you're thinking, I previously stated that I don't just go around fucking randoms and to a degree I wasn't lying.

It's just that... since that day I met Spencer a week ago, I can't stop thinking about her. She consumes my thoughts. And it doesn't help that I'm her attorney so I have to spend countless hours with her all day.

So, in trying to get my mind off her, I went to a bar and came home with a random; well I've seen her around the bar that I frequent often so she's not totally a random.

But as you can see, it clearly didn't work.

"Fine." The girl says getting up from my bed and quickly putting her clothes back on. She wordlessly gets dressed and rushes out my front door.

I lay back on my bed and sigh. "She's straight Ashley." I say out loud to myself. Fuck the being straight part, she's your client and she's on trial for murdering her husband. "Allegedly." I correct my self-conscious. And that makes it better? "Why don't you just shut the fuck up and stay out of my head." Because I am your head. "Right." I say silently to myself and shake my head. "I am not having a conversation with myself right now." I roll my eyes and get up from the bed. A nice long hot bath is what I need.

–

"We have two weeks until the trail Ash and we're nowhere near ready." Jackson points out to me as we go over some more evidence in my office.

"Did your guy have any luck finding that bullet?" His cop friend has searched the Dennison residence for a few days now that it's no longer an active crime scene. I think that the key to breaking this case open is finding that bullet. What kind of killer fires off three rounds and only picks up one of the bullet casings? What was so important about that casing that they had to take it?

"Not yet." He shakes his head. "He's gonna keep looking though." He assures me and I nod.

"So, how's your girlfriend?" I look up from the paper I was reading and give him a quizzical look. "Spencer." He clarifies and I scoff.

"She's not my girlfriend, Jackson. Stop being such an ass and help me win this case please." I tell him seriously turning my attention back to the paper in my hand.

"I know why you wanna win this case so bad." He tells me and I look up and see a smile playing at his lips. "I mean, you're not getting paid so there has to this other reason." He says as he smile grows wider.

"And I'm sure you're gonna tell me right." I more say than ask my friend. He nods and smiles.

"You're getting laid from all this aren't you?" He smirks triumphantly like he just figured out the most difficult equation of his life.

"You're incorrigible." I shake my head at him. I don't even bother responding to his question. He smiles and continues to look over the files.

–

"This is where most cases are won... or lost." I explain to Spencer who nods. "Jury selection is the most important part of the process." She nods again. "We want jurors that will be inclined to believe what we're trying to sell to them."

"So like, we want a lot of women then?" She asks timidly and I smile.

"Exactly." I nod. "We want more women than men, we should steer clear of businessmen as well." I add.

"When are you choosing?" She asks me.

"Tomorrow." I tell her.

"How long does the process of choosing usually take?"

"A couple of days normally. But I wanna get it done as quickly as possible so I can finish gathering evidence in your case." She nods and smiles.

"You're really smart." She says softly and I smile.

"I read a lot books in elementary school." I tell her and we both laugh. After a moment she stops and stares at me. Like she's reading me and asking me something at the same time.

"Ashley..." Her voice breaks when she calls my name. Her face tells me what she wants to know.

"You know..." I start, moving closer to the table—closer to her. "The burden lies on the Prosecutor, he's the one that has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed this crime, Spencer. That's one of the hardest things to do. I'm gonna poke holes in his case and plant seeds of doubt in the juror's minds." I grab her hands, that are cuffed to the table, enclosing them in mine. "I have no doubt that we're gonna win this." A small smile plays at her lips as she stares down as my hands on top of hers.

"I trust you." She says softly and looks up at me. Giving me a look I can't read this time. But she doesn't look away when our eyes meet, she only continues to let a small smile play at her lips while her eyes bore into mine.

I look away first. Feeling the burn on my cheeks.

"You're blushing." She says softly in an amused tone. I release her hands and scoot back in my chair.

"I should probably get going." I say standing and gathering all my papers.

"I'm sorry." She says suddenly.

"Why are you apologizing?" I stop what I'm doing and ask, confused.

"I've made you uncomfortable." She replies simply, in a monotone voice.

"You didn't..." I shake my head and search for the right words. "I need to go take care of some things." I tell her and she nods and smiles slightly.

"Okay." Is all she says as I knock on the door and wait for the guard to come let me out.

"I'll be back tomorrow to discuss how the jury selection is going." I tell her and she only nods, not turning around to meet my eyes. When the guard opens the door I hurriedly make my way out the jail and to my car. As I get in and start it, my phone rings. I look down and see who's calling and roll my eyes.

"Hello, mother." I answer blandly.

"Well hello to you too my lovely daughter." She answers sarcastically.

I put my ear piece in. "I'm kind of busy mom, did you want something?" I ask putting my car in drive and pulling out of the parking space I was occupying.

"Actually, I do." She answers and pauses. I can hear someone speaking in the background but I can't make out what is being said. "I wanted to know if you would like to come over for dinner tomorrow evening, I met this wonderful gentleman-"

"Mom, don't start."I cut her off. I knew there was an ulterior motive behind this call.

"All I'm saying, Ashley..." She says my name in a condescending tone. "If you've never dated a man, then how do you know you don't like them?" She asks. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Mom I gotta go." I tell her.

"Just think about it, Ashley." I hate the way she says my name. Like she's so much better than me because she likes men. Or like I'm most disappointing part of her life.

"Okay mom." I answer solemnly and hang up. It really does break my heart that my mom and I haven't drifted apart. After I came out my Senior year in high school, she practically cut me off. My dad was okay with it, but she still hasn't come to terms with it. And now that I'm a 26-year-old woman, she still constantly tries to set me up on blind dates with guys. I've never liked men, I knew that well before my senior year.

–

"Judge Hallawell called again." Madison tells me as I enter my office.

"I'm not available." I tell her and she nods in understanding. Ever since the other night when we... well you know, she's been calling me non-stop. Don't get me wrong the sex wasn't... horrible or anything. It actually made me wonder for a second if she'd done it before, but that's besides the point. The point is, she wants to jump into this relationship with me and I don't. Get this: during the sex, she told me she loved me. Like, who does that? I mean, I know people who are in love do that but we're not even dating and she loves me? Like really?

I shut my office door and walk over and flop down in my chair. I let out a puff of air and rub my temples.

This case is really starting to get to me. If I don't find some evidence to soon, I may be calling up Scott and taking that offer.

Ugh!

I've never been so uncertain of a case in my life.


	8. Cold Hard Evidence

**Toknee**: Well I'm glad I could make you smile. You guys make me smile with all these reviews.

**FFReviews: **Lol I prefer not to answer that question and let you guys just read it. hopefully I do this story justice because you guys are absolutely amazing with all the reviews.

**Sparkles04: **Well, I'm glad that you found it. :) I hope you enjoy the rest. I didn't know you had a new story either until like a few days ago and I read the whole thing in almost one sitting lol.

**CR00: **And you say poor Ash because of that? lol. I'd be happy.

**Cornish: **My head so was not in the gutter when I read that part...okay I'm lying it was like half way in half way out lol.

**Lovely: **That's a little early for that, don't you think? I think she doesn't want to scare Spencer off. Not like Spencer can go anywhere lol, she is kinda in prison.

**A: **Lol, you're not the only one voting for that.

**LoveAsh87: **I love how sure you are that Spencer didn't kill Aiden.

**Ohsoclever1: **That's why Ashley was so confident before taking the Spencer case. She's 26 and one of the most well-known attorney on the West Coast. :)

**Fumbling Towards Ecstasy: **I think when I saw your name I might have jumped for joy lol. Don't tell anyone though. I have always been a fan of yours. I'm really glad you're liking my story so far.

**Pati1996: **It was starting to get to me to as I was writing it because I just wanted to get to the trial already but I knew i had to build the case up first. Hopefully things will pick up soon lol. :)

**Tam24: **OMG don't die over there lol. I'm sorry. I'm trying to compensate for the short chapters by posting once a day. Not helping?

**ashleyss27: **Maybe if you said sugar cookie I would have gone for it lol.

**MsBlaze: **Baaaaaaby... I have nothing to say to you lol.

* * *

"Did you want me to go with you to the courthouse?" Jackson asks as I gather up some papers and the jury questionnaires off my desk.

"No. I got it." I shake my head and tell him. "I need you to talk to your guy about the bullet and see where we are with that, maybe even go over to the Dennison place to help with that." I suggests and he nods.

"Anything else I can do for you master?" He asks jokingly.

"Now that you mention it, you can call and set up an interview with that cop who was the first on the scene, I want to ask her some questions." He nods again and I leave and head to the courthouse.

–

"You nearly used up all your peremptory challenges today." Scott says to me as we walk out of the courtroom.

"I also eliminated nine of your best choices for juror's." I reply with a smile.

He shrugs, "We're seeing the last fifteen people tomorrow. I'm sure I will find some good ones." He adds and laughs a bit.

"You're really confident as of late, Scott." I point out and a sharp laugh rips from his throat.

"You would be too if you were me, Davies." He says then walks away confidently, without another word.

And really, he has every reason to.

My phone rings and I see it's Jackson calling.

"Tell me you got something good." I say to him as I walk out of the courthouse. I've been here for about five hours, interviewing and eliminating potential jurors, so I really need some good news right now.

"How fast can you get over here?"

–

"We were looking in the wrong place." Jackson tells me as I get out of my car and walk up to the front door.

"What?" I ask.

"For the bullet." He tells me and I nod in realization. "We were looking in the Dennison's house, but it wasn't there, it's never been there." He says and smiles a bit. I don't know why he feels the need to drag this out. Why not just tell me already?

"Did you find it?" I ask and he smirks before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an evidence bag with a small silver bullet in it.

"That's silver." I point out unnecessarily.

He smiles wider, "I know."

"The bullets recovered from the victim's body were gold." I say, again unnecessarily. Jackson knew this case inside and out by now.

"Mhm." He nods.

"Where'd you-"

"Lodged in a neighbors tree." He says, this time with obvious excitement. "Can you believe that? It went through his hand, grazed his neck, through the living room wall, through a fence and into tree... sounds like something out of a cartoon if you ask me." He says as a tall dark-complexioned man emerges from the Dennison residence. "Ashley this is Cory Billings, Cory this is Ashley Davies." He introduces us and we shake hands.

"I need the bullet." He tells Jackson in what had to be the deepest voice I have ever heard. I flinched a little and Jackson gave me a puzzled look before handing the bag over to the tall scary man. It helped that Jackson's cop friend also happened to be the lead detective on this case and although his duty is to helping the state prove their case, he's doing Jack a solid and giving us all the information first.

"Is it possible to have the ballistics on that as soon as possible?" I ask him and he gives me a smile, showing his unnaturally white teeth.

"I'll put a rush on it with the lab." He tells me and I nod.

"You're welcome." Jackson says to me as we walk towards our cars.

"Thanks." I smile at him and get into my car.

"So does that mean you'll-"

"No." I cut him off abruptly and shake my head. "Seriously, Jack... never gonna happen." I smile and start my car.

"You keep telling yourself that, Davies, and maybe one day it'll be true." Jackson says to me. I smile and shake my head at my friend as I put my car in drive and pull away.

–

After leaving Jack, I got a call from Kyla asking to meet up with me.

"So what did you need to discuss with me?" I ask Kyla as we both take a seat across from each other. We met up at this little coffee house about ten minutes from my office. I informed her that I only had a few minutes to spare and she told me that was enough time to say what she needed to say.

"It's about the case." She tells me and I shake my head.

"Kyla, you know I can't-"  
"I know." She cuts me off and nods.

"Then..." I trail off.

"I need to tell you something they may help." She says and I sit back in my chair and examine her.

"What is it?" I ask after a moment.

"Aiden _was _cheating on, Spencer." She nods for emphasis and my breath hitches. Is she telling me that he was cheating with her? Spencer's best friend since birth. Twenty-five-years of friendship and this is how she repays her. "Oh, God no. Not with me." She shakes her head, reading my thoughts. I let out a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding and she smiles.

"You care about her." She says narrowing her eyes, scrutinizing my face for a moment. I clear my throat and sit up.

"How do you know for sure that he was cheating then?" I ask and she looks as though she's recalling a moment in her head.

"Once, about a month ago Spencer and I were cooking dinner at her house and I needed to go to the bathroom, when I was making my way up to the bathroom I overheard Aiden in the bedroom on the phone with someone."

"Do you remember what time this was?" I cut her off briefly, recalling the number that was dialed everyday, twice a day for over eight months and not once before then at 12:30pm and 8:30pm.

"It was around eight thirty maybe." She says a little unsure.

"Think hard Kyla, I need to know the exact time." I tell her and she racks her brain for an answer.

"It was eight thirty, I'm sure of it because we'd just finished watching an episode of The Office." She says in a more confident tone. I can't help the smile that appears on my face. So the number that has now magically been disconnected, belonged to a mistress.

"How do you know that he was cheating though?" I ask and I can tell she's replaying the moment in her head to give me accurate details.

"Well, he was speaking in a hushed voice and he sounded like angry or something. He kept repeating over and over that he was gonna tell her, that he needed more time."

"Tell who?" I ask.

She shrugs, "He never said any names." She tells me and I sigh.

"I need more than that Kyla." I tell her and she smiles.

"Oh, did I forget to mention he kept calling this person on the phone baby?" She says and I smile along with her.

"Yeah, you might have left that little detail out." I say in a playful tone.

"Silly me." She matches my tone.

"Thanks Kyla, you have no idea how much you've helped me out here." I tell her honestly and she nods.

"Anything I can do to help Spencer, I'm willing to do it." She tells me as we stand up from our seats.

"Okay, I'll be in touch if I need anything else." I let her know, she hugs me before leaving.

Looks like this case is getting back on track.


	9. Pressure Pushing Down on Me

You guys have absolutely no idea how happy I get when I see that I have another review. I wish I could show you guys my happy dance lol. Anyways, before this gets too awkward let's just get on to the review responses.

**Sparkles04**: I know it was short I'm sooooorry lol. Glad you're liking it though. And yes very good thing cause I'm still waiting on the next chapter of revenge please and thank you. ;)

**Vivicarious**: Court is coming up real soon. No worries. :)

**Tam24**: Yeah, I wanted Jackson to be the sort of humor person in the story because it gets so serious later on.

**CR00**: LMAO. I literally burst into laughter when I read that. Classic. Good one. But unfortunately, no he's not a werewolf lol.

**ashleyss27:** Nah, probably not lol. But good try though.

**Amy:** Ah! I never thought of that. Could Kyla be covering up for someone by lying about what she heard? Wait and see.

**GreenPen85**: So you caught that vibe huh?

**Cornish**: Hmmmm... does the mistress have something to do with the murder? Idk. And yes, we're right back where we started with you. It's okay. Usually our first instincts are almost always right anyways...right?

**Judelltar**: More details coming right up. I like the daily updates too. More so, I like being done with this story already before I even posted the first chapter. It let me work on other things while I still have a story for you guys to read. :)

**pati1996**: Uh-oh...I can't tell you if she did or not. You'll have to stick around to find out. :)

**msblaze**: I LOVE YOU!

**sarahlynn00**: I am absolutely thrilled that you're enjoying it.

**Ohsoclever1**: That was over too soon. I totally agree with that. Maybe I'll post two chapters today to make up for it.

**southtrash:** Well thank you very much lol. And yes... things are getting VERY juicy. tehe.

* * *

"Ash, I got that interview with that cop for you, but she can't do it til Friday afternoon." Jackson tells me coming into my office.

"Why the hell so long?" I ask and he shrugs.

"She said it was the only day she had available." He tells me and I stand up from my desk.

"What about the ballistics on that bullet, that come back yet?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Billings is working hard on it though, lab is backed up twenty something odd cases." He tells me and I sigh.

"We have less than a week before the trial starts and I'm all over the place right now, Jack." I tell him gathering up my files and stuffing them in my briefcase. I have to be to court in less than thirty and I pray L.A traffic allows it.

"You'll get it together." He smiles reassuringly. "You always do." He adds. I can't help but smile.

"Thanks, Jack." I say and kiss him on the cheek. I'm seriously gonna be late.

–

"Being late isn't your thing, Ashley. You finally giving up?" Scott asks as I hurriedly make my way towards the courtroom where we're interviewing the final fifteen jurors. I push the wrinkles out of my suit with my left hand and grip my briefcase tighter with my right.

"Let's just do this." I tell him, once I reach the door he's standing in front of.

"By all means." He smiles and steps aside, holding his arm out, gesturing for me to go in.  
I can already tell this is gonna be a long day.

–

"We finally have all the jurors selected." I tell Spencer and she nods.

"So what now?"

"Jackson and I are gathering evidence still to strengthen our case, but that's pretty much it until the trial." I tell her and she gives me somber yet relieved look.

"How you holding up in here?" I ask and she smiles a bit.

"As good as I can be." She says with a shrug.

"Good." I return the smile. We both grow quiet.

"Did you find out anymore information on that number you asked me about last week?" She asks and I shake my head.

"No. But um..." I trail off trying to figure out the right way to tell her this. I don't want to give it away that Kyla is the one that told me because that's not on me to do. That's between them. "It turns out that uh..." I pause and look at her.

"Just tell me, Ashley." She says. I sigh and just decide to spit it out.

"We believe that your husband was in fact cheating." I tell her and nod. She shakes her head and smiles knowingly.

"I guess I knew all along." She shrugs and lifts her head to find my eyes. "Do you know with who?"

"We haven't..." I shake my head. "Not yet." I settle on. "Spencer I need to discuss the trial with you." I tell her and she nods. "It starts next week and the media is all over this. You can't speak to anyone apart from me. Not your family, not your friends, no one." I stress to her.

"Why?" She says with confusion laced in her voice.

"The more times you tell your story the more construed it'll become. I don't want the media to know anything about what we're discussing here." I tell her and she nods in understanding. I know that she's been talking to Kyla about the case because how else would Kyla know we were investigating Aiden having a mistress? "Promise me?" I say raising a brow.

She knits her eyes brows together for a moment before her face contorts into a smile. " I promise Ms. Davies." She says and I audibly gulp. I'm totally _not_ having a fantasy right now. Nope, surely am not. "Anything else?" She asks with a smile, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Uh no." I shake my head, mouth still slightly open.

"Then I should go, it's chow time. Don't wanna miss that." She says in a sarcastically playful tone.

"Right." I match her tone and stand.

"Will you-"

"Yes." I answer loudly before she can get the entire question out.

Way to go Ashley.

"I didn't even ask you anything yet." She says raising a brow.

Fuck me! Please stop doing that Spencer.

"I'll be by here tomorrow." I say clearing my throat.

"You a physic and a lawyer?" She asks me smirking.

"Bye Spencer." I say instead of answering her question. I walk over and knock on the door and wait for the guard to answer.

"See you later, Ms. Davies." She says in a low throaty tone as the guard opens the door. I have to steady myself on the wall as my legs almost give out underneath me.

Oh she knows what she's doing. I think to myself as I get enough strength to leave the room.

–

"This doesn't make sense." I say again, shaking my head as the CSI handling the case explains to me what exactly happened. After leaving Spencer I made a phone call to a connect who just so happens to be the wife of said crime scene investigator, so here we are now. At the Dennison residence going over murder.

"Should I go over it again?" He says in a bored tone but then smiles.

"Please." I throw out some of my Davies charm.

"Okay, you be the killer this time." He tells me. I stand at the front door and walk towards him as he holds his hand up in defense. We use a toy gun that he brought along for our scenario. "So the killer fires one shot into the hand of the victim, it goes through his hand and grazes his neck, he falls down backwards onto his stomach like this." He says and falls away from me onto his stomach.

"Witnesses say that the second shot came at least two minutes after the first one." I tell him and he nods. " The killer may have panicked trying to figure out what to do. I'm pretty sure that the first shot rendered the victim unconscious for a moment. He was probably in shock. When he began to stir the killer shots him in the back once, and according to the blood splatter report he crawls about a half a foot before turning over to his back." He says, continuing to demonstrate. "That's when the killer fires off a third round." I play along.

"It still doesn't make sense." I scratch my head with the toy gun as I shake it.

"And what's that?" He says getting up off the floor.

"Two whole minutes before the second shot was fired. Two minutes and no one called the police?" How could Spencer not have heard the gunshots? I question myself, realizing that was a question I needed to ask Spencer.

"Maybe people mind their own business around here." He says and shrugs, pushing his thick glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah..." I mumble out distractedly. "Thanks again for coming on such short notice." I tell him after a moment.

He smiles and nods enthusiastically, "It's really no problem, I love talking about this kind of stuff." He continues to nod and stare at me.

"Okay." I nod and smile uncomfortably. "I'll um... tell your wife I said thanks as well." I say and back my way out of the house.

"Yeah, okay. Will do." He waves and continues to nod as I turn and practically sprint back to my car. Who _likes_ talking about dead bodies?

–

"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" Keller bursts into my office and says. I jump up from my desk.

"Excuse me, sir?" I beg his pardon as I look around him and see Madison giving me an apologetic look. I shake head to let her know it's fine.

"You took the Spencer Dennison case without consulting me first?" He says walking further into my office.

"I wasn't privy to the memo that stated I had to consult you before taking cases sir." I say in a less than pleased tone... well on the inside. On the outside my tone is nice a cheery.

"You know, Davies..." He pauses and looks out the window I have in my office. Spectacular view of downtown Los Angeles. "Back when this firm was just starting out and your father was on team that practically jump started Dean & Keller Law Firm, I had a lot of respect for him." He nods and turns to look at me. "He was an incredible attorney." He says and pauses again. "Before he died I promised him that I would take care of you in this law firm that I'd make sure you were treated fair. We all know how cut throat this business can be. Especially in this city." He takes a seat in a chair and grabs the picture of my and my dad off my desk. He stares at it intently for a moment before standing up again. "You lose this case and you're out." He says simply, placing the picture back on my desk.

"Out of what sir?" I ask, needing him to tell it to me straight.

"Out of a job." He says not even bothering to turn around. He exits my office and I flop down in my chair.

Great... that's just what I needed... more pressure.


	10. Clues

_Hello lovely readers. I don't have time t do the review responses today. But I hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless. :)_

* * *

"So he just told you that if you don't win this case you're fired." Jackson asks and I nod.

"Yep, just came right out and said it." I tell him and he shakes his head in disgust.

"There's gotta be a law against that or something."

"I don't think so." I tell him and shrug. "It's fine, Jack. I planned on winning this case anyways." I tell him and smile my best smile.

"There's the Ashley I know and love." He winks at me and picks up the file he was reading. "You watch the news lately?" He asks looking up from the paper.

"Desperate housewife murder's husband for two million dollar insurance policy. Yeah... I've seen it." I tell him complete with an eye roll. "How do they even get this information, the insurance policy information wasn't released to the public." I point out.

"Scott." Jackson and I say in unison. Something you need to know about Scott is that when he's confident he's going to win a case he doesn't care about the information the public knows, in fact he'll tell them his whole case plan if one of them would be smart enough to ask.

"I really don't like that guy." Jackson says and I laugh. He really doesn't like him. We were all friends at one point in Law School. Well I was friends with the both of them so I guess I kind of forced them to hang out on occasion. The only difference between the two is that Jackson continuously tried to get in my pants and Scott tried maybe once or twice and when it didn't happen it gave up. Jackson didn't and I oddly, we grew closer because of it.

"He's so freaking confident." I say in an annoyed tone. I really need to find something that will blow this whole 'she did it for the money' thing to shreds.

"Billings said it should only be a couple more days before we get the ballistics back on that bullet." He tells me and I nod.

–

"I was at the house yesterday going over the crime scene with an expert." I start and she stares at me waiting for me to finish. "Spencer how come you didn't hear the gunshots?" I ask and her eyes widen a little before narrowing, scrutinizing my face. "I'm only asking because there was a full two minutes in between the first and second gunshot. You didn't hear anything?" I asks. Her face softens and she shakes her head.

"I took something to help me sleep." She says softly and I get it.

"Oh." I say simply.

"My parents came to see me today." Spencer says with a smile, changing the subject. I can tell she's replaying every moment of their visit in her head.

"You didn't..." I trail off.

"No." She says quickly and shakes her head. "I didn't tell them anything about the case. Actually, they didn't even ask." She says and smiles wider.  
"They must really miss you." I say and her look grows sad.

"You know parent's, always worrying." She tries to force a smile but fails. "And with my mom's high blood pressure, all this stress doesn't help." She says softly and I only nod, not knowing exactly what to say. "My dad had a mild heat attack a few years back but now he's strong as ever, it's my mom I worry about." She continues and I can tell she just needs someone to listen so I do just that. "Yesterday, after you left... I was thinking about something..." She trails off and looks at me.

"What was it?" I ask and she looks away. It takes almost a full minute before she speaks again.

"About a month ago I was doing laundry and I found a credit card receipt in Aiden's jean pocket. It was for a restaurant near his job." She speaks softly, almost in a whisper. I have to lean in close just to hear her. "I didn't think much of it at first but now, I know that I'm right." She stops again. I can see her eyes glass over and all I want to do right now is get up and go wrap my arms around her. Tell her that everything is going to be okay. But I don't, I sit and wait for her to continue. "Clearly he paid for two meals and the time on the receipt was for when he should have been at work. I asked him if he'd left work to go to lunch with one of his buddies or something and without knowing that I'd found the receipt, he told me that he didn't have time to grab lunch because he was slammed at work all day. Why would he lie if he wasn't doing something he wasn't supposed to be?" She questions herself as she continues to look down at her hands.

"Do you remember the name of the restaurant?" I ask after a moment.

"Cafe Pinot." She says with her face still glued to the table.

"Spencer." I say, reaching over and lifting her head with my index finger. You know that saying, that someone's eyes are like windows to their soul? Well, I never believed that saying, in fact I thought it was a bunch of bullshit...until now. I'm looking in Spencer's eyes and it's like I'm feeling everything she's feeling right now. Every emotion, fear, heartache...everything. "He was fool." I say and she blinks a few times erratically. "You are beautiful and clearly smart and funny. He was crazy to cheat on you." I finish and she smiles a little.

"Thank you." She says softly as I pull my hand back.

"For what?"

"Trying to make me feel better." She says and stares at me.

"I wasn't..." I shake my head at her. "I mean every word of that, Spencer." I tell her firmly as she continues to stare at me. She knits her eyebrows together like she's trying to figure out if I'm being serious or not.

But I am serious...

And that scares me.

Falling for your client _is_ Attorney '_no no'_ 101.

–

"Mom!" I call into the house as I open the door with the key I was given three years ago. I've only ever used it a few other times. Shows you how much I visit here.

"Ashley." My mother says in a surprisingly pleasant tone as she emerges from the kitchen. "What a wonderful surprise." She smiles a half smile and hugs me.

"Asheeeeee."

"Hey buddy." I catch my little brother as he full-out leaps into my arms and hugs my neck tightly. Matthew and I are twenty years apart if you're wondering.

Yeaaaaaah...

Just imagine how I feel. Here I am, a twenty-six-year-old woman with a six-year-old brother. If it makes it any better my mom had me really young so she was still well below forty when she had Matty.

"Where you been Ashee?" He asks me when he pulls back from his hug.  
"I'm sorry Matty, buddy. I've just been super busy at work that's all." I tell him as I sit him down.

"That's okay." He says cheerfully hugging my leg. "I love you, Ashee." He hugs my leg tighter.

"Matthew go play or something." My mother says to him in a forceful tone. I hate the way she talks to him sometimes. Like my God, it's not his fault you'd rather be doing other things with your life.

"Okay." He beams up at me, then runs off.

"He misses you when you don't come around you know." My mother tells me as I follow her into the kitchen.

"Well if you weren't such a..." I trial off, realizing who I was talking to. She turns her head around and gives me a look but keeps walking. "If you weren't trying to force guys on me all the time then I'd probably visit him ore often." I say in a snarky tone.

"Ah." She gasps out as Paul—her hired help—hands her a glass of wine. "You make me sound like some kind of Abadesa." She says and feigns insult.

Abadesa?

Really mom?

"Right, cause I mean... that's not what you are or anything..." I trail off leaving the door open for her to rebuttal...she fakes a smile and sips her wine.

"Why are you here, Ashley?" Her tone switches from loving mother to annoyed psycho in a matter of seconds.

See...

This is why I've only used my key a few times.

"I wanted to ask you something." I reply honestly, taking a seat on a stool positioned in front of the island.

"Ask away." She waves her hand in a 'get on with it' gesture.

"Well, what do you do when you have a particularly tough case that you can't really put together?" I ask and she sips more of her wine before sitting the glass down on the counter.

"This isn't about that Dennison murder trial is it?" She asks and I roll my eyes. She's a lawyer so she knows I can't talk about it.

"Mom." I give her a look and this time she rolls her eyes.

"How am I supposed to help you if I don't know what you're referring to Ashley?"

"Just think of this as a hypothetical question." I say.

"Hypothetically speaking, are we talking about the Dennison murder?" She counters.

"You know what mom, never mind." I say and hop down off the stool. "I don't even know why I came here." I shake my head and make my way to the door. My mother doesn't even attempt to stop me.

"Bye Matty." I yell down the hall to his room and I hear something being thrown, probably a game controller and his little footsteps as he runs down the hall to me.

"Bye Ashee." He says and squeezes me tightly. I can't help but smile down at him.

I really should hang out with this little guy more often.

–

"Judge Hallawell called again." Madison tells me as I go into my office.

"Still not available." I turn to her and smile.

"Gotcha." She nods once before I shut my office door. I walk over to the leather couch in my office, kick off my shoes and flop down on it. After leaving my moms house I talked with a blood splatter expert and grabbed an early dinner. After that, I was entirely too tired to drive to my condo in Westwood Village so I opted to come back here.

It's been a long week. I think to myself. Then the realization hits me. "It's only Wednesday." I groan out and turn over on the couch.

I fell asleep quicker than I thought I would...


	11. Persistence

Here's another update for you all. Hope you enjoy! :)

**Dani:** I'm sorry. Here's the next update. Please forgive me. lol

**MsBlaze**: No comment lol

**Amy**: I'm glad you think so.

**LoveAsh87**: Do you think that Spencer is remembering small details at a time or purpose?

**Tam24**: I like him too! :)

**A:** Good question. I don't remember if I answered it or not lol.

**Guest:** I have no idea why he sounds like that lol. That wasn't my intention when I created his character.

**pati1996**: And the plot thickens...dun dun dun... lol

**Ohsoclever1**: I'm sooooorry. I didn't even notice the chapters were getting shorter when I was writing it. Don't hate meeeee.

* * *

I awakened the next morning, still clinging to sleep, with a mildly painful throbbing in my head. I rolled out of bed... wait "How in the hell did I get here?" I mumble as I get up and make my way to the bathroom. I don't have to look in the mirror to know that my eyes are bloodshot and there isn't a thing I can do to change that.

I fruitlessly splash water on them anyways, and all over my face. I finally glance up in the mirror to see that I'm right. My face looks that of a person who hasn't slept in weeks. I brush my teeth and shower. After getting dressed I walk into my living room and find Jackson asleep on my couch. Oh, this must be how I got here. I go into the kitchen and make a pot of coffee.

"Jack." I say shaking him awake.

"Huh, yeah?" He says springing upright, looking around the room with wide eyes. I giggle before handing him the cup in my right hand.

"Here." I say and he takes the coffee. He sips it slowly then murmurs a thanks. I walk over to the chair that's across from the couch he was sleeping on and sit down. "I have a new lead." I tell him as I take a sip of my coffee.

Ah!

Heavenly.

"What is it?" He asks doing the same.

"I went to talk to Spencer yesterday..." I start and I can see him smile behind the coffee cup that's lingering just above his bottom lip. "Knock it off, Jack." I warn him and he smiles wider. "Anyways, she told me that, about a month back she found this receipt in the victims pocket for this restaurant downtown and I wanna check it out." He gives me a confused look.

"Okay, so he got something to eat...what does that have to do with the case?" He asks as he sits his coffee mug down on the table. Oh right, I forgot to tell him about Kyla and I having lunch.

"The mistress Kyla told me about over lunch, I think this receipt is our connection to her and that mystery number." I say.

"Wait, lunch?" He says sitting back on the couch, interlocking is fingers and placing them behind his head, smiling.

"I swear, I don't even know why I bother sometimes." I shake my head at him and get up from my spot on the chair. "We were talking about the case, Jack. Nothing else." I assure him, going into the kitchen to pour myself more coffee.

"Oh, no I believe you." He says in a sarcastic tone, nodding his head slowly.

"Right." I say simply with a smile. "If you wanna go you should probably go get cleaned up. I have spare toothbrushes under the sink." I tell him, pointing in the direction of the bathroom—like he doesn't know where it is.

"Just be careful, Ash." He says in a serious tone as he gets up from the couch.

"Careful of what?" I ask knitting my brows together.

"This case is pretty high profile, you know with paparazzi and such..." He trails off.

"Jack, I'm not sleeping with my clients best friend." I assure him. Kyla is honestly not even my type.

I get this weird 'we could be sisters in a different life' vibe about her.

"I'm just saying." He says holding up his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Well don't." I tell him and my mind drifts to Spencer for some reason.

"You're not falling for her best friend cause you're falling for her." Jackson says quickly, snapping me from my thoughts. I look up to say something mean to him but he's already making a run for my bathroom.

"Asshole!" I yell after him.

"Cunt!" He yells back. I giggle and finish the rest of my coffee while I wait for him to get ready.

–

"What makes you think anyone will even remember them?"

"I don't know." I shrug. "It's worth a shot though right?" I say and he purses his lips and nods slightly. "Hi," I greet the hostess as we walk into the restaurant. Very high end place. Food looks like it could run you a hundred dollars a plate; per person. "I was wondering if you could help me?" I ask and she smiles.

"Anything you want." She says in a low tone and I inwardly roll my eyes. Clearly I'm wearing a _Valentino_ Custom Made Suit, which probably cost more than she will ever make in her lifetime.

I'm so out of her league.

"Is there anyone I can speak with that has been working here for a least about a month and a half?" I ask and she smiles wider. I hear Jackson trying to stifle his laughter beside me.

I elbow him and he promptly shuts up.

"Well I've only been working here for two weeks. Trying to pay for medical school, you know." She smiles again. Oh... well that's not so bad. "But I think Chad has been working here for like six months or something." She says then calls over a waiter who was clearing off a table nearby.

"What's up Jess?" He asks once he reaches. He gives me a once over and smirks. I swear, guys can be so gross sometimes..

"Well, these people here wanted to ask you some questions." She tells him, keeping her eyes glued to me as she speaks. "I didn't get your name."

"Oh, I'm Ashley Davies and this is Jackson Monroe." I tell her and this time I can't stop the smile that appears on my lips. She's staring at me and not backing down in the least bit.

"You guys cops?" Chad asks us and we both shake our heads and smile. I guess two attractive people in suits scream investigators.

"No, we're not cops." I tell him and he nods.

"So what do you want?" He asks, shuffling his weight to his right foot, and leaning on the hostess stand.

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions, that's all." Jackson speaks up in firm and commanding tone and I look up at him and smile. Look at him taking control.

"Is there somewhere we can sit?" I ask the boy who looks to be only about nineteen or so. He has pimples all over his face and braces. Deadly combination.

"Sure." He nods and leads us to a table. I turn back and look at Jess, which I'm assuming is her name since Chad addressed her as that, she's still looking at me with a smile. Can't say she's not gorgeous. Cause I'd be lying.

"So what'd you wanna know?" He asks once we sit down.

"Have you ever seen this man here before?" I ask him, pulling out a picture of the victim and showing him.

"You sure you're not cops?" He asks and I shake my head.

"We're not cops kid. We're lawyers." I tell him in a serious tone and he loosens up a bit. I guess he's had run in with the cops. I'm not too particularly fond of them myself, if we're being honest.

"Yeah, I remember him." He says nodding and then taps the picture unnecessarily with his index finger.

"When?" I ask, taking out a small notepad from the inside pocket of my suit jacket.

"I don't know." He shrugs. "Maybe like a few weeks ago." He says.

"Do you happen to remember if he was with anyone or not?" I ask and the boy looks off like he's trying to remember.

"Yeah!" He says loudly after a moment. "He was with a blonde woman." He tells me and I drop the notepad and paper on the table.

Spencer?...

"Do you remember what this blonde woman looked like?" I asks and he scratches his head.

"Um..." He starts and stands from his chair. "Maybe like this high." He says holding his hand almost at eye level with himself.

"So about 5'5 or 5'6?" I ask and he nods. "What else?"

"Uh... she was really pretty like, model pretty and she hand blonde hair. Oh wait I said that." He says then shakes his head.

"Anything else?" I ask him and he nods after a moment.

"They were arguing."

"This guy and the blonde?" I ask to be sure.

"Yup." He nods.

"Did you happen to hear any part of the conversation?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Nah. But I do remember her getting up and leaving before their food even came out. But he paid for it anyway, and left a nice tip." The boy nods.

"Okay." I say as Jackson and I both stand. "Thank you, you've been a tremendous help."

"No problem." He says slowly, smirking at me again. This time I roll my eyes outwardly and walk away.

"You should call me sometime." Jess says handing me a piece of paper as we walk past the hostess desk. She doesn't give me a chance to respond before she resumes her earlier position.

Well Gotdamn.

Sometimes there's nothing more sexy on a woman than confidence.

But seriously though, does this suit say nothing about me? I guess it just screams big lezbo.

I look down at the paper she handed me, it had her name 'Jessica' written on it, her phone number and a heart.

Cute.

–

"Holy fuck shit!" I scream as I enter my office and see Judge Hallawell sitting in the chair behind my desk. I turn around and look at Madison who didn't warn me or anything before I entered my office, she gives me an apologetic look and I smile. Margret probably threatened her job or something.

"I feel like you've been avoiding me, Ashley." She says getting up from the chair. I gulp and shut my door.

"No, not avoiding." I shake my head. "Just busy... you know... with work and stuff." I say as she slowly makes her way over to me.

"All work and no play makes Ashley a dull, dull girl." She whispers in my ear once she reaches me... walking behind me as her index finger traces it's way around my neck.

"I ahhh...ummm... no I'm not." I gulp again when her hand starts to move lower down my body.

Spencer...Spencer...Spencer...

Wait no, not Spencer!

Thinking of Spencer is wrong Ashley, just plain wrong! My self-conscious keeps trying to drill into my head.

Yeaaaaah. I'm not too big on listening to shit like that.

"I haven't stop thinking about you since that night." She whispers in my ear and I gasp when both her hands cup my ass.

"Uhh...I...um...I..." I stumble over my words as I try and find a way to get out of this.

"You seem a little tense." She says and grabs my ass again when she says the word tense.

I shake my head. "I..I...I...I..I...I'm fine." I let out a nervous laugh and go to step away from her when my door opens. We both turn to see Jackson standing there.

"Oh, Judge Hallawell, how nice to see you." Jackson says smiling at her.

"I wish I could say the same." She says in a monotone voice as she rubs her hands flatly across her clothes, straightening them out.

"Jackson." I let out a small, quiet sigh of relief. I've never been so happy to see him in my life. "What can I help you with."

"Did you forget already?" He says with an amused look on his face. "We had to go interview that guy today for the Dennison trial." He says and give me a look.

"Oh!" I say suddenly understanding. "Yeah, totally spazzed on that." I shake my head and look at Margret, who's looking back and forth between the two of us. "I totally forgot about that." tell her and let out another nervous laugh. "Reign check?" I question with a smile and she nods. "Great." I say and kiss her quickly before practically running out of my office. Jackson and I speed walk to the elevator and it couldn't come fast enough.

"Oh my God, thank you so much. You're a lifesaver." I tell him truthfully, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Don't thank me, thank Madison." He says and gives me an amused look.

"Well thank you, Madison." I proclaim loudly as we reach the lobby of the building.

"She was totally gonna have cougar sex with you." He says after a moment as we walk through the doors of the building.

I laugh and shake my head at him.

Some things never change...


	12. Bullets and Boobies?

**southtrash:** Lmao. I cried laughing when I read 'yikes. cougar sex. sounds painful!' lol.

**sparkles04:** I would love to hear your theories lol. But...in case you're right, just to be on the safe side...PM them to me. lol.

**NORTH0314:** I'll see what I can do. lol. I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)

**LoveAsh87**: Who's the blonde...great question. can't tell you lol

**Ohsoclever1**: Yes, I absolutely love Jackson as an OC. I think his character would have been better in SoN than Aiden lol. I'm glad that chapter made up for the previous short ones. I honestly didn't mean for them to be this short but when I was writing it was like, if I try to add more it only ruined the chapter...does that make sense? Epic fail indeed lol.I was lol-ing when I was writing that part.

**FFReviews:** I'm not sure either to be honest. Maybe a combination of both. Maybe this chapter will explain that a little better.

**CR00**: OMG the worst right? Well, I don't know...is it? My gf is 27 and I'm 24, that's the furthers age difference I've had with someone older than me.

**Cornish**: I wrote this story in about five or six days flat. I got so into it. I get like that sometimes. And I definitely won't run out of gas because it's already complete so yay. lol

**Amy**: Why thank you! It would be totally weird to write a fic where Kyla has a crush on Ashley or vice versa. dont you think?

**Guest**: Hmmm, that's a good question lol

**dani**: Aw thank you. I told wifey what you said and we both agreed that comment was super sweet lol.

**Tam24**: Yeah, let's hope this progression continues. :)

**lovely**: She's crazy! lol

**pati1996**: I'm not sure if I should tell you that lol. Let's just say...we're starting to get to the good stuff.

**Msblaze**: sigh. Why do we keep doing this... that is all.

* * *

"This isn't weird, me asking you to come here... is it?" Kyla asks as we both take a seat with our coffee's in hand.

"No." I shake my head and smile. "It's fine." I assure her.

"Kay good, cause I don't want to seem like a creeper or anything." She says and makes a face that I can't help but laugh at.

"So..." I start, sipping my delicious coffee. "Was there a particular reason you wanted to meet here or..." I trail off.

"Not really, no." She shakes her head and smiles.

"So, just for coffee then?" I ask to clarify. I don't know if you're getting that vibe but I'm kinda feeling like this is a date.

"Yup." She nods and sips her coffee. Looking every which way but at me.

"Kyla, you know that I'm-"

"Yes!" She cuts me off abruptly. I stare at her and wait for her to continue but she just looks off into the distance. She's a peculiar one I tell you.

"Kyla." I say and she whips her head around.

"Hmm?" She says, raising her brows.

"What's this about?" I ask with a smile, placing my coffee on the table.

"I'm not like gay or anything." She says and turns away again.

Ooooookay?

Did you hear me ask her if she was gay?

Cause maybe I missed that part.

"Kyla." I say her name again and she bites the inside of her jaw like she's trying to hold back a smile.

"You've been to visit Spencer every day right?" She asks and I nod.

"Yeah, we've had a lot of things to discuss." What is she getting at here?

"Hmph." She says and turns away again. This chick couldn't be more cryptic right now if she tried.

"Kyla!" I say again, this time in a louder voice.

"Fine." She drawls out and places her coffee on the table. "Spencer talks about you a lot, like when I visit." She says and I gesture for her to continue. "That's it." She shakes her head and shrugs, picking up her coffee and drinking it.

"That's it?" I question.

"Yup." She nods. This has to be one of the most pointless conversations I have ever had in my life. I laugh at the smaller brunette sitting across from me as I receive a phone call.

"Hello." I answer.

"Ash, meet me at the crime lab now." Is all Jackson says and hangs up.

"I've got to go." I tell Kyla, standing up from my chair. She nods and smiles in understanding as I hastily make my way to my car.

–

"What is it?" I ask Jackson, who's standing by the door waiting for me. He quickly turns and walks back into the building and I just follow him. Once we reach the door of the crime lab we go inside and a short fair complexion man with thick rimmed glasses and a balding head approaches us.

"Tell her what you just told me, George." Jackson says to the man who only nods.

"Well..." He starts as she scurries—with a limp, back to his microscope he'd just vacated. Jackson and I follow on his heels. "As you may..." he pauses and looks at me. "Or may not know." What is that supposed to mean? "Most guns have their own unique identifying features and even though the gun was not left at the crime scene, many degrees of information can be determined from the bullet, the nature of the wound and any residue left around it. Now, we know that this bullet," He says picking the bullet up with tweezers from off his microscope tray. "went through the victims hand, through a wall and a fence, then lodged itself into a tree. See the bullet isn't in the most pristine condition. But," He says as smiles, placing the bullet back down. "It was still in good enough condition to be identifiable."

"And what does that mean exactly?" I ask and he smiles wide.

"Glad you asked." He says and looks through the lens of the microscope. "Take a look and tell me what you see." Do we really have to play this game right now?

"Uh..." I say looking into the lens. "A bullet?" I shrug and step back. Seriously though, that's all I see.

"Correct!" He shrieks like I just solved the most difficult puzzle known to man. "You see precisely what everyone else sees when they look through the lens." I glance over at Jackson who shrugs and slightly shakes his head. "What some people don't realize is that each weapon's barrel, contains small ligatures and grooves, which, when a bullet is fired from them, make marks on the shell casing, which can be used as a means of identifying the make and model of gun if these shell casings are found at the scene. But!" He shrieks again.

Oh my God, if this guy doesn't tell me already I'm liable to pick that bullet up and throw it at him.

"Is there a-" Jackson cuts me off with an elbow in my side. I look up and him and he shakes his head.

"It's a process he has to go through, Ash." He whispers and I roll my eyes. Well this process is holding me the fuck up.

"We can also tell by the grooves and type of bullet, what kind of gun was used." He says and I sigh. Well that was anticlimactic.

"So you're...Ow!" I shriek as Jackson elbows me again. I look at him and he just shakes his head.

"This is a bullet that has been recently fired, in this lab of course, from the victims Ruger .22 single action pistol, which was recovered from the scene." He says putting up a slide on a projector. "And this." He says, putting another slide over the previous one, but both pictures are still visible on the screen. "Is the bullet you guys found. Look at the groove marks and the size and not to mention the color."

"They're completely different." I whisper out.

"Precisely." George says. "That's because this bullet," He points at the second slide he put up. "Was fired from an entirely different gun. A Glock 22 .40 CAL." He tells us with a huge grin on his face.

Clearly this man loves his job a little too much.

"Isn't that..." I trail off and look up and Jackson.

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Jack cuts me off and nods.

Interesting...

–

"Well hello there." Spencer says in an upbeat tone.

"You're mighty happy today." I point out as the guard cuffs her to the table and leaves.

She shrugs and smiles. "Today has been a good day, and it's only getting better." She smiles a smile that I can't help but return.

"Well, I'm glad you're having a good day. I have news. We finally got the ballistics back on that bullet we found at the scene and it turns out that it was fired from an entirely different gun, not your husbands." I tell her and she gives me a confused look.

"So, what does that mean?" She asks, sitting back.

"There was a second gun, a Glock 22 .40 Caliber to be exact. The DA's office is gonna have a hard time trying to explain that one to the jury." I tell her with a smile. I know this isn't the slam dunk I've been looking for or anything but it's definitely close.

"You're really something you know." She tells me suddenly and my smile disappears. "You're doing all this stuff for me, someone you don't even know, and for what? You're not being paid, yet you're still treating this case like you would any other one." She says and gauges my face for a reaction. I don't know what to say. I can't draw my eyes away from her lips.

Fuck this! I think to myself and get up from the table. My chair practically flying into the wall behind me.

I go bang on the door for the guard to come. When he opens the door I demand he take the cuffs off Spencer.

"I could get in so much trouble." He tells me. He's failing to understand that I really don't give a fuck. I yell at him to take them off before I have his job, and being the young naïve guy he is, he complied.

"Thank you, that's all." I tell him, shooing him out of the room. Spencer stands still in the spot the guard had removed her cuffs from as I turn around and stare at her. She's confused. Both of our chest heaving up and down rapidly.

"Ashley, what's-" But she doesn't get to finish that sentence. I gently slam her against the wall opposite of the door and my lips are attacking hers, my tongue immediately begging for entrance. She opens her mouth wider to wordlessly grant that entrance. When our tongues meet she lets out a throaty moan that does all types of things to my already drenched center. "Ashley." She pulls back and calls my name again. I scan her face, looking for any signs that she wanted me to stop. But she smirked and pulled me back into her, letting our bodies get lost together.

"I've wanted you so bad, since the day I first met you." I whisper in her ear as she unbuttons the buttons on my suit jacket.

"Shh." She tells me, ripping off my jacket and discarding it...somewhere. "Don't talk, just do this." She says guiding my hand down the front of her body and into her own pants.

"Oh shit!" I moan out when my hand makes contact with her soaking wet center.

"Trust me, I've wanted you too." She whispers out in a raspy voice that sends shivers down my spine. I part her folds with one finger and slowly begin to rub up and down. I know that at any moment we could be caught and I think that only turns me on more. "Ashley..." She moans out my name as my finger brushes over her clit. "I've never-"

"Don't worry baby." I cut her off. "I'll do all the work." I assure her. I lift her legs off the ground and wrap them around my waist so the only things supporting her are me and the wall. I quicken my pace as Spencer's moans become louder and her breath's become more ragged.

"Please." She begs me and I answer her plea, entering her with two fingers. "Holy crap!" She yells out as I move in and out of her. "Yes." She hisses in my ear, lifting her hips and dropping them to meet my thrust. "I'm so close, Ashley." She says and it only spurs me on more. I move my fingers quicker and I can feel her walls tightening around this. "Yes, like that oh my God, I'm gonna...fuuuuuuck!" She yells out as her orgasm over comes her. After a moment, when I'm sure she has her strength back, I sit her down. "Ashley...Ashley...ASHLEY!"

"Huh?" I say and look up from the desk separating us, then at Spencer's hands that are still cuffed to the table.

"Where'd you go just now?" She asks me with a smirk. Oh God, was I moaning out loud? I swallow the lemon in my throat.

"I um... I was just thinking about the case that's all." I tell her and she nods and smiles.

"Right." She says in a disbelieving tone. "The case." I look up at her and she smiles wider.

Yup... I was totally just thinking about how _great_ winning this case could be.


	13. I Have My Suspicions

**IaMaFaLlEnDaRkAnGeL**: I'm glad you found it and you've decided to join the party lol.

**Cornish**: When I was writing it...in my head I'm like this can't be happening they're in prison but I'm like omg it's so sexy though lmao. Kyla's just a bit coo-coo lol.

**FFReviews:** Yay! I got you! And I was thinking that as I was writing it, like hmm...maybe they'll realize this isn't real because of how unrealistically OKAY Spencer was with it all. Meh...I'm glad I was able to get some of you guys lol.

**Ohsoclver1**: Your theories are priceless lol. Omg I was dying and I was picturing the whole scene out in my head as I was writing it which was making me laugh even harder about it. I'm glad you like the title and I don't really know why I never titled the chapters on gravity...hmmm...maybe I'll go back and do that. Yay! I got you with the sex scene too.

**lilce1992**: Agreed!

**NORTH0314**: Lol sorry. That was a mean trick to play on you guys.

**LoveAsh87**: I hope so too cause it was pretty hot. I think the fact that they could get caught at any moment mad it hotter. You're sticking to your guns about Spencer being innocent. I like that.

**Msblaze**: OMG I LOVE YOU LOL. and yes, we are a couple of assholes in love. I love you so much I think you should write a sequel to DOS lmao. Which I know you're not gonna do so blah you. I know you love that gun talk. ooooh baby I love it when you talk about the guns you have. lol. And she was gonna throw the bullet at him, I almost added that part in lol.

**lovely**: I'm glad you think so.

**j23:** Well welcome to the party my friend. I'm glad you like it. I will post everyday and I hope you continue to read :)

**Amy:** I agree. .Ever. I would never keep you guys waiting :)

**PurpleLover92**: Don't you just love it though? I wish my imagination...oh wait nevermind lol. More case stuff is definitely about to start coming up.

**pati1996**: Lol got you too! Sorry I am an epic tease. Glad you liked it :)

**southtrash**: LMAO zing!

**Tam24**: Sure...but you could tell me again lol

**A:** I'm sorry. I had to throw some kinda twist in there.

* * *

"Matty, bring me that box over there, will you?" I point to a box sitting on the floor beside the couch. He jumps up from his spot at my side and retrieves the box for me. Him and I have hung out all morning. I decided to blow off work this morning until my meeting with the first responder on the scene this afternoon.

I really did miss being around this little guy.

"Here you go, Ashee." He says handing me the box.

"That's for you buddy." I tell him with a smile and he beams up at me.

"For me?" He asks in the cutest voice I ever heard.

"Yeah, Matty." I smile.

"What is it? What is it? What it is?" He keeps repeating over and over as he jumps up and down with the box in his hands.

I giggle at him. "Just open it, Matt." I say and he stops jumping, sits the box down on the floor and starts to rip the wrapping paper off. He's having a hard time so I help him with it.

"Oh wow!" He says jumping up from his knees. "A Wii U!" He exclaims. Apparently, he'd been asking my mom for one ever since he saw the commercial a month ago but she kept saying that she wasn't going to pay that much money for something he would play with for six months then never think about again. Like she doesn't have the money...

"You like it?" I ask with a smile, already knowing the answer.

"I love it!" He screams out and jumps on the couch to hug my neck. "You're the bestest, Ashee." He says in a low whisper. "I love you."  
"I love you too buddy." I tell him right back.

After he played his Wii U for a while we watched a movie and ate popcorn before I dropped him back off at my moms to go to my meeting.

–

I sit in my office, waiting for the cop, Amanda James, who was the first responder to make it to the Dennison residence.

"Your two-thirty is here, Ms. Davies." Madison tells me over the phone intercom.

"Thank you, you can send her in Madison." I tell her and stand, waiting for Amanda to come in my office.

"Ms. Davies..." She says as she peeks her head in my door.

"Come right in Ms. James." She was about 5'5 or so, light brown hair with sort of bleach blond streaks—if you can even call them that. She's built like a cop, which is a rare thing to find in women cops these days, especially in L.A, but her tight-fitting jeans and shirt contoured to her body perfectly. "Have a seat." I smile and gesture to the chair in front of me.

"Sorry about the late interview, I literally have worked double shifts for the past two weeks straight." She says and lets out a nervous laugh. She runs her fingers through her hair and forces a smile. "So what can I help you with?"

"You were the first on the scene correct?" I ask the officer in front of me. She nods. "According to the police report you got to the Dennison residence only ten minutes after the call was made by Mrs. Dennison, correct?" She nods again. "How'd you get there so fast?" I ask and she looks like she's thinking of an answer.

"I was in the neighborhood." Is all she says.

"In the neighborhood?" I question, unconvinced.

"I'd just left a another incident when I received the call."

"Okay." I nod and stare at her intently. Clearly she was uncomfortable. "How do you like being a police officer, Amanda?" I ask.

"Actually I just made detective." She says proudly. "A huge bust like the Dennison Murder gave me the credentials I needed." She adds.

"Well congratulations." I tell her and smile.

"Thank you."

"Amanda..." I start, clearing my throat and sitting up further in my chair. "I'm going to be blunt here, is that alright?" I ask her and she nods. "In your statement you said that when the police call came in your were on Fremont, leaving a prior call that you'd answered right?" She nods and sits up. "Fremont is at least eighteen minutes, going seventy-five-miles an hour, I tested that theory myself." I say in a condescending tone. "How'd you get there in under ten?" I ask and she clears her throat uncomfortably.

"I um..." She trails off and looks around my office.

"Ms. James?" I question her and she shoots up from her chair.

"Am I on trial here or what?" She asks before stomping out of my office.

You weren't...

But you are now...

"Madison." I call over the intercom and she comes into my office.

"Yes, Ms. Davies?" She responds.

"Get me everything you can find on Detective Amanda James please."

"Right away."

–

"I have some good news to share with you." I tell Spencer and she smiles.

"You got me off?" She asks playfully quirking a brow. "Oh wait," She says holding her cuffed hands up. "I'm still in prison so... never mind." She smiles. It's two days before her trial and I think I'm more nervous than she is. Jackson and I have been working none stop to pull this case together and I think we've just about done it. Just a few more loose ends to tie up.

"I said I have good news... not spectacular." I counter and she just smiles wider.

"So, what's this good news you need to share with me?" She asks sitting back in her chair.

"Your case, it's um... it's coming together quite nicely." I say and she nods and leans forward.

"Do you think we have a shot at winning?" She asks in a hushed tone.

"I told you, this is the DA's office case to win or lose. But I have plenty of holes to poke in it." I assure her and she nods. "You okay in here?" I ask after a moment of silence.

She shakes her head and smiles. "This again?" I'll admit, I ask her this question just about every time I come here. I can't help it. I care.

Maybe a little more than I should.

"I'm just-"

"I'm fine, Ashley." She says sternly with a head nod for emphasis. "Haven't gotten into any fights, no one steals my chow and I think other women may even be intimidated by me. I mean come on... everyone does think I murdered my husband in cold blood." She says in a sarcastic tone.

"Bad ass." I play along.

"That's me." She says then pretends to hock a loogie and spit it out.

"Gross, Spencer." I tell her playfully, making a disgusted face.

"You're right that was gross." Her face turns from faux seriousness to disgust as well. We both giggle before silence falls over us. She stares at me intently and I don't dare look away. It's like she's reading me. Deciding if this façade I some times put up is real or not. I've never been more real and honest in my life than I have been around this woman.

"I should go." I say standing up, breaking our staring contest.

"Really?" She asks. I nod. "Do you have to?" No, I don't but I should.

"Yes." I lie. So much for being real.

"Shut up brain." I say out loud on accident.

"Huh?" Spencer questions me.

"Nothing." I shake my head and smile before making my way to the door to signal the guard of my want...need to exit this room.

"Ashley you okay?" Spencer asks, confusion still evident in her tone and her face.

"I'm fine." I assure her.

But I'm not fine. I'm not fine at all. I mumble a 'see you later' and run out of the building... well more of a power walk, but I got out quickly none-the-less.

I have two days to prepare for trial and I'm gonna need every second I've got.

* * *

The next chapter is finally the trial Yay! okay so if I get enough reviews from you lovely people by seven pm EST I will post the next update. Let's say ten is good. :) Hope you enjoyed that chapter. I know it may throw some new theories in the mix now.


	14. Opening Statements

Because you guys are so awesome here's the next chapter! :)

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"I'm nervous." Spencer leans over and whispers to me. I smile a small smile and shake my head.

"Absolutely no reason to be." I tell her and she knits her eyebrows together, studying my face for a moment before pulling back and nodding.

"Okay." She smiled as the jury entered the courtroom. In the end, I believe that it will be six against six in the jury room, and that's good for me as well. Deadlocks work. As they all trickled in and took their seats I looked over at Spencer who stared at them intently.

The 35-year-old mother of two children, whose husband cheated on her and left after ten years of marriage, the 18-year-old college student who hasn't yet grasp the concept of love, the 26-year-old medical student who likes to play RPG's about shooting and killing people, the 59-year-old mother of eight; all girls, the 32-year-old grocery store clerk who believes big businesses, like the one Mr. Dennison worked at, are corrupt and should be eradicated, and the 24-year-old student who's life has consisted of cheating boyfriends. These are my jurors, the people who I believe give Spencer the best chance in that jury room. Scott went in an entirely different direction of course, picking all business men who probably have wives they cheat on often when going out-of-town on their 'business' trips.

"All rise, the honorable Judge Matthenson residing." The bailiff tells us and we do as instructed.

"You may be seated." Judge Matthenson says and everyone in the courtroom sits. And when I say everyone... I mean the nearly one hundred people that have packed in to see this trial. Media included. A few of Spencer's friends and family on one side while Aiden's parents and other family on the other. I inwardly roll my eyes at the circus the media has created over this past weekend with the trial approaching. I guess they needed _something_ to boost their ratings.

Judge Matthenson instructed the court of all the things he would and would not tolerate in his courtroom before we actually started.

"We will now here the prosecutions opening statement." Judge Matthenson says and Scott stands. I couldn't believe that the DA's office was letting him go at this one all on his own. Don't get me wrong, Scott's a good lawyer. But he's an Assistant District Attorney, they must be super confident in their case to not even have District Attorney Santos prosecuting the case.

Scott cleared his throat as he made his way over towards to podium in front of the jury. He reminded himself to control his hands, to keep them, despite his nervousness, at his sides and out of his face. The upper part of his body was clearly tense and you could see the sweat building on his brow. It was like he'd never prosecuted a case before. Then I realized, this is the first high-profile case he'd done alone.

I smiled to myself with this realization as Scott began to speak.

"Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the court, Ms. Davies, ladies and gentleman of the jury." He started, turning and gesturing to each respective party. "My name is Scott Williams. As the assistant district attorney responsible for prosecuting this case, it is my duty under law, but also my honor, to address you at this point on behalf of the people of the State of California." Scott's body began to relax as he continued to speak. "In the next few minutes I will outline how I propose to prove to you that on September 16th, 2012, Spencer Dennison, the defendant, murdered her husband Aiden Dennison. The evidence will show that the defendant committed that murder by intentionally shooting Mr. Dennison in the hand, chest, and back with a Ruger .22 caliber single action pistol owned by the victim—and she did so out of a combination of rage and greed." So that's his whole case? Spencer did it cause she was upset about that douche bag cheating and wanted his money. Oh, Scott... you're gonna have to do much better than that. He stepped from behind the podium, clearly becoming more comfortable, and walked towards the jury. "You will learn some things about the victim that may shock you, no doubt, but all I ask is for you to look at the evidence." Scott turned and glared at Spencer, before turning back to the jury and detailing at length, the specific witnesses and evidence he would present. After several minutes of bad mouthing Spencer, subtly of course, he suspended his narrative and glared at Spencer once again.

Okay really, what the fuck?

"Why does he keep looking at me like that?" Spencer leans over and whispers to me.

"Don't worry about it." I shake my head and whisper just as softly, "He's trying to rattle you that's all." I assure her and she nods.

"In the course of this trial you will also learn that the man the defendant killed was an exemplary human being and a dedicated family man and friend. At only twenty-seven-years-old he'd already become the CEO of a reputable marketing firm, the youngest the firm as ever had in its 145 years of existence." I have to admit, Scott's on a roll right now. Confidence sky-high as he continued to discuss a few other things about the case. "I will address you at the conclusion of this case and I will ask you to remember what I promised to prove today. I will ask you to remember that no crime is worse than murder, and that no petty reasons can excuse it. I will ask you to hold the defendant accountable for that crime, at a time when many people get away with murder, I'm asking you right here and now to refuse to allow this to happen in this case. Thank you for your courtesy and your attention." He finishes, walking back over to his seat and unbuttoning the buttons on his suit jacket with a slight smile on his face. I'm sure he was feeling both triumphant and relieved that it was over. When I stood to give my opening statement, I shot him a wink and a smirk and he shook his head.

"May it please the court, the people, and you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. My name is Ashley Davies and as counsel for the defense I have no obligation to present an opening statement. Indeed, we have no obligation to prove anything since my client must, by law, be presumed innocent. Nonetheless, I could not let go unchallenged the assertions that you have heard this morning, assertions which, contrary to Mr. Williams's representation, have no basis in fact." I pause as I move closer to the jury examining each one of them closely. "At this moment it would be understandable if you were a bit confused."I say with a patented Davies smile. "The people, in the person of Mr. Williams, have accused my client, Spencer Dennison, of a horrible murder. And worse, they have painted her as a woman with evil motives, as a wicked villain who was only with her husband for his money and subsequently murdered him to get it. What you have just heard, however, is a fable. A fabrication built upon a tissue-thin framework of unsubstantiated speculation that cannot withstand the piercing light of the truth." I knew I was going a little overboard but I figured Scott and I had this unspoken agreement: I didn't object to his bullshit during his opening statement so he didn't object to mine. I turn and glanced at him and he was telling me with his eyes to watch it. I smirked and continued. "Mr. Williams has asked you to look at the evidence, I beg you to do the same. For the evidence will show a very different story from the one you have heard. My client, a loving wife and daughter, incapable of harming a fly, let alone another human being. And her own husband? Whom she loved and adored unconditionally, although she'd found out about his cheating ways."

"Objection." Scott injected.

"Sustained," said the Judge, with a nod. Glancing in my direction he added, "Save it for the trial counselor." I nodded once and continued.

"You will learn in the course of this trial, that Mrs. Dennison has never been previously accused of any crime, never even received a parking ticket. Never harmed a soul. You will learn that she is not the greedy, manipulating monster that the prosecution is trying to make her out to be." I then described the witnesses that would support my theories of what really happened. "Look at the evidence, Mr. Williams stated, and that is the one thing we absolutely agree on. For if you have even a shred of reasonable doubt, you must resolve that doubt in favor of my client. You and you only possess the power and wisdom to end this nightmare for my client. To send her back home to her loving parents and friends who can attest to the wonderful person she is." I turned and glanced at Spencer who gave me a shy smile and looked away and from the corner of my eye of could see Scott looking back between the two of us. I quickly averted my gaze back to the jury. "Thank you so much for your time and attention." I smiled at them and took my seat. The judge declared a short recess and, following a brief conference on exhibits and order of witnesses, Scott began presenting his case.


	15. Witnesses

I can't say enough how happy I get when I see a review for this story. I love reading them so much! I was more than happy to get two chapters out yesterday and it is something that I would love to do again if you guys want it. To answer a few of the reviews because I do not have time to answer them all...sorry :( I promise to get back to that next chapter if I can.

NO I am not a lawyer lol. Although, I am getting my Master's currently in Public Safety and in my Undergrad I took quite a few classes that dealt with the courtroom and lawyer etiquette and such but nope I'm not a lawyer nor do I ever wish to be. lol. I really appreciate how much attention you guys pay to the details. I did about a week of research before writing this story just to make it seem a bit more real to you guys. I'm glad that research helped. I think that pretty much answered a lot of the questions...I think. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me. I would love to answer them. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

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His first witness was the 911 operator who answered Spencer's phone call. Scott led her through a series of questions designed to recreate the phone call between her and Spencer by asking questions like, 'What was the defendants tone when she was describing her husband laying on the floor with blood seeping out of him.' She answered that Spencer seemed eerily calm and wasn't panicking, giving her details to the position of the body and the type of gun used and such. Then he submitted into evidence People's 'exhibit A' the tape of the phone call between Spencer and the operator. I'd listened to it a few times prior to the trial of course, but it still didn't change the fact that to others she seemed cold but I could hear the helplessness in Spencer's voice. No matter what others thought, I could hear the pain. The questioning went smoothly without any objections from me. When it was my turn to address her she visibly tensed. Was I that intimidating?

"Goodmorning Ms. Reevis, how are you today?" I ask her with a smile, trying to take away some of my intimidation factor I guess.

"I'm doing good." She nods and smiles right back. She was a pretty woman, in her early twenties. Probably doing this job as a way to pay for college. But she wasn't an essential part of the case so I didn't break out the Davies charm, not yet anyways.

"You testified that you received the defendants 911 call at exactly 4:49pm, correct?" I ask.

"Yes." She nods.

"And about how long into the call did you dispatch an ambulance and police officers to the Dennison residence?"

"Well, when we receive a call an ambulance is automatically dispatched to the residence once the person asks for one, so within a few seconds." She says.

"And what about the police?"

"Maybe a minute into the call." She says and I nod.

"So if my client placed the called at let's say 4:49pm, then the police wouldn't have received notice of the incident until 4:50pm, correct?"

"Right." She nods, a bit confused at my questioning.

"No further questions Your Honor. I say and take my seat.

"Counselor," Judge says addressing Scott.

"The state has no further questions for this witness your honor."

"You may step down, young lady." The judge tells her and she does.

Next Scott called the blood splatter expert to the stand. He explained what the different patterns and such meant. How the positioning of the body and other clues helped determine the succession of the gunshots. With this testimony, Scott entered into evidence the crime scene photos of Aiden's lifeless body laying in the foyer as well as all the blood on the walls. When it was my turn to question him I only had one question, "Did the positioning of the body and blood splatter tell you who committed the crime?"  
"No." He shook his head and laughed along with some of the court room patrons.

"No further questions." I say and take my seat. I glance over at Spencer who shot me a smile.

After the blood splatter experts testimony Scott called in succession two neighbors who testified that they heard the gunshots but saw nothing, after that we recessed for lunch.

"You think he will call that cop to the stand today?" Jackson asks me as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

"Not sure." I shrug. I bite my sandwich and say, "I hope so." With a mouth full.

–

After lunch everyone waited in the courtroom for Judge Matthenson to return.

"You're doing amazing." Spencer leans over and whispers to me. "And you look good doing it." She adds and my head snaps in her direction. What the-

"All rise." The bailiff says as Judge Matthenson returns to the courtroom. I keep my eyes glued to Spencer who is looking straight ahead with a smirk on her face.

"You may sit." The judge says.

First up for Scott, was the coroner who told the court about the approximate time of death and cause of death. Which was consistent with what the blood splatter expert had attested to. He entered into evidence 'exhibit E' a copy of the coroners report that stated the same thing he'd just testified to, two weeks ago when he examined the body. When it was my turn to question him I asked him if he was sure about the time of death and he answered that he was sure. I then asked if he could tell from the bullet wounds if the same weapon was used on all three. He gave me a quizzical look before answering with a no. I ended my questioning there and Scott called the neighbor who testified to witnessing a blonde running from the scene. He then asked the woman what she did once she saw the blonde running, the woman stated that she left the window and went back into the kitchen.

"So, because you went back into the kitchen you're not sure what happened after that right?" He asks and the woman nods. "So the blonde woman could have re-entered the house then?"

"Objection." I stand and stay. "Leading the witness."

"Sustained."

"Let me rephrase the question." Scott says with a smile. "Because you left the window, you're not sure what happened outside the Dennison residence after that, correct?"

"Right." The woman answers.

"No further questions." He says and takes a seat.

"Hello, Mrs. Mayfield." I greet the woman with a friendly smile, which she returns. "You testified that you saw a blonde woman running from the residence, did you happen to see this woman's face?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"I couldn't make it out clearly." She says.

"So, all you were able to tell was that; it was a woman and that the woman was blonde?" I ask.

"Yes." She answers.

"So it could have been anyone running from that house..."

"I suppose so." She answers.

"You're a smart woman Mrs. Mayfield, can I ask you a fairly simple question?" I ask and she smiles and nods.

"Sure."

"Does it make sense to you that a person who'd just committed a crime would run away from the scene only to return a few minutes later and call the police?" I ask her a question I know won't be getting answered.

"Objection." Scott stands. "Speculation."

"Sustained." Judge Matthenson says.

"Thank you." I say addressing the woman." No further questions, Your Honor." I say and take a seat. All you need is a seed of doubt and the tree will bloom.

After the neighbors testimony Scott called the first responder on the scene to the stand. Here was my time to poke _major_ holes in his case.

"Ms. James, how did you know about the incident at the Dennison residence if you were already out answering a previous call?" He asks her and she sits up before answering.

"Well, I was getting in my vehicle heading back to the station when I heard the call go out over the scanner for all available officers in the area to proceed to that address." She answers in a confident tone. One I can't wait to diminish.

"You were the first person on the scene correct?" He asks her.

"Yes." She nods.

"And upon entering the residence, what did you find?"

"The defendant." She says pointing at Spencer. "Kneeling over the victim's body with the gun at her side and blood all over her clothes and hands." She testifies and I can hear Spencer's breathing pick up next to me. I lower my hand under the table and place it on her knee. She immediately calms herself.

"When you saw this, what did you do?"

"I immediately removed her from the home, placed her in handcuffs and into my squad car, and waited outside the residence for backup to arrive."

"Did Mrs. Dennison say anything while in your custody prior to backup arriving. She just kept repeating she didn't hear it, she didn't hear it." Amanda finishes. That wasn't in the police report, I think to myself as Scott walks over to the table and grabs a file off of it.

Wait, she immediately arrested Spencer? That's odd. I say to myself and write down a note.

"Your Honor, I'd like to submit 'exhibit c' into evidence. A copy of the police report from one Amanda James." He says and hands the report to the judge. "No further questions. I throw a smile in Jackson's direction before standing up and approaching the witness stand. I'd only discussed my questioning of this witness with him. And since, as a defense attorney I'm not obligated to turn over any evidence I acquire.

Scott is going to be totally caught off guard.


	16. A Fist Full Of Wrenches

So sorry how short this one is too! I really didn't realize how short these chapters were. I hope you still enjoy the chapter. :)

* * *

"Good afternoon." I greet Amanda. She gives me a faux smile and says a quick hello. "You stated that you were at a previous call before you arrived that the Dennison residence, correct?" I asks and she nods, already knowing where I'm going with this questioning.

"Right." She says in a snarky tone.

"Where was this call that you were leaving?" I ask and she clears her throat and rolls her eyes.

"On Fremont." She answers.

"In Carson?" I ask and she nods. "You mind saying it out loud for the record?" I ask in a condescending tone.

"Yes." She says sharply.

"Do you know how far Carson is from the Dennison's residence in Beverly Hills?" I ask her and she shrugs.

"No."

"It's 31 minutes, in traffic." I tell her.

"Objection Your Honor, relevance?" Scott asks and the judge looks at me.

"I promise I'm getting to it." I tell him and he looks at Scott.

"Overruled. I'll allow it. But make your point quickly Ms. Davies." He says in a warning tone. I nod and continue with my questioning.

"That drive is 31 minutes in traffic and you made it there in less than ten?" I ask her.

"I guess so." She says.

"How?" I question.

"I don't know." She tells the court.

"You don't know." I say and smile. "Your Honor this is a copy of a log from a GPS monitor I had installed in my vehicle two weeks ago after reading Ms. James's police report. What the GPS monitor does is measure the distance, speed and time it takes to get from one place to another. I went to the house Ms. James said to have been leaving when she received the call about the murder and drove from there, going 75 miles an hour, to the Dennison residence in Beverly Hills. As you see in the log, it took 19 minutes to get there. I almost cut the trip in half but still not enough to match the time of Ms. James." I say and look back at her. "You would have had to been driving at a speed excess of 90 miles an hour to make that trip in under ten minutes, so how did you do it?" I ask her and she shakes her head confusingly.

"I don't... I'm not sure." She shrugs and looks at the jury. In my peripheral I see Scott drop his head.

"Ms. James have you always been a brunette?" I ask and her head shoots back to me.

"Um..."

"Objection." Scott says.

"I promise there's a point to this sir." I say to the judge.

"Overruled. Answer the question Ms. James." He tells her and she gives me a look.

"No." She says sitting up in the chair some more.

"What color was your hair let's say, three weeks ago?" I ask.

"Blonde." She says barely audible.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Objection Your Honor, badgering the witness." Scott tries.

"I'm simply asking her to repeat her answer loud enough for the jury to hear."

"Sit down, Mr. Williams." Judge Matthenson says.

"Ms. James, could you repeat your answer for the court please."

"Blonde." She says, this time loud enough for the jury and the rest of the courtroom to hear. Mummers start among the crowd with this realization along with the discrepancies with the amount of time it took her to get to the crime scene, Judge Matthenson warns every one to be quiet or get escorted from the courtroom.

"So, for all intents and purposes it could have been you the neighbor saw running from the house."

"Objection." Scott stands again.

"No further questions your honor." I say quickly and walk confidently back to my chair.

"Nice." Jackson says once I take a seat. "But what about the-"

"Couldn't bring it up. I'm going to recall her to the stand as a defense witness after the Ballistics Expert." I tell him and he smiles and nods.

"What about the what?" Spencer looks back between Jackson and I and ask.

"Can't tell you." I tell her and smile as the judge stated that court would resume tomorrow morning.

"Why can't you tell me? I'm your client." Spencer smiled back.

"I don't know. I want you to be surprised I guess." I tell her with a shrug.

"You're crazy, you know." She responds.

"Sure, sure."I nod. "Let's see if you feel that way tomorrow." I add and smirk at her as the court officer comes and escorts her away.

"You know falling for your client is Attor-"

"Go to hell." I turn around and tell Scott.

"I see the way you've been looking at her, Davies." He tells me with a knowing smile as I gather up my papers and stuff them into my briefcase. "It's a shame really." He says as I stand up.

"What?" I ask.

"That you're falling for someone who won't be around for much longer." He says and I make a confused face.

"What the hell are you talking about, Scott?" I ask and his face changes in realization.

"You don't know?" He ask, in a shocked tone.

"Know what?" Clearly I don't know.

"The DA's office is pushing for the death penalty." He says and my heart drops. "After finding out about the insurance policy they took life and every other offer off the table." He adds and I feel like I can't breathe. If I don't win this case Spencer could die... She could seriously die and I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life. "This is why we don't fall for our clients, Ashley." He says, scanning my face before walking out of the courtroom.

"They're gonna-" I turn to say to Jackson.

"I heard." He cuts me off.

"Jack, I can't-"

"I know." He nods. We both exit the courtroom and I contemplate whether or not to tell Spencer she's facing the death penalty if we lose this case.


	17. Reasonable Doubt Anyone?

I most likely will be posting another chapter today for you awesome people! Thank you so much for all the love and reviews and kind words and just...everything lol. I love reading them...so keep them coming. I also wanted to let you guys know that I have a new story that I wrote in about four days lol. And after I post the next chapter of this I will post the first chapter of that one so make sure you check it out. Hope you enjoy...

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"I have to be better tomorrow I just have to." I repeat over and over as I pace around my condo.

"You were fine, Ashley. Don't let what Scott said rattle you." Jackson tells me shaking his head.

"Jackson..." I start, sitting down next to him on my couch.

"I know." He cuts me off and says with a smile.

"What am I gonna do?" I ask him.

"Well first you gotta win this case. Everything else will come easy after that." He smiles wider and I can't help but smile back.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" I ask.

"Enough to sleep with me?" He asks, quirking a brow. I shake my head and hit him on the arm.

"Aaaaaand now it's gone." I laugh and say.

"But seriously, you've got this Ashley. Did you see the way the juror's looked after you rattled that cop? You planted the seeds, Ash and that's really all you can do." He says and I nod.

"I know. I just... I couldn't bear it if we lost this case and Spencer got the..." I trail off, not wanting to say the words.

"You just have to believe that you'll win this, and you will. Just be as amazing as you were today tomorrow, and you got this one in the bag." He says and I smile.

"Now I love you again."

"Really so-"

"Don't ruin it." I cut him off by placing a finger to his lip and shaking my head. He rolls his eyes and smiles at me.

"Should I order Chinese?" He asks as I get up from the couch.

"Sure." I nod and go into my room. I grab the file off my nightstand and open it to Spencer's picture.

I sigh and close the folder. I'd have to be much better tomorrow to win this case for her.

Jackson ordered Chinese and we stayed up late working on my questioning for the ballistics expert tomorrow as well as more questions for the cop.

–

The next day at trial Scott called the lead investigator to the stand first. Questioning him about any enemies the victim might have had or if the investigation turned up and more suspects. After Scott was done questioning him I asked only two questions; how many bullet wounds did the victim have and were all the bullets recovered from the scene. He answered that the bullet we found in the neighbors tree was the bullet that was fired first into the victims hand, grazed his neck, went though the living room wall, a fence and into a tree.

After that Scott called the ballistics expert to the stand. Questioning him about the bullets and bullet casings found at the scene and his statement was exactly the same as what he'd told us in the lab. Except Scott was sure not to ask about the third bullet, or to point out that the third bullet casing was missing from the scene. So I did.

"Hello, Dr. Zerchani." I say as I approach the witness stand.

"Hello Counselor." He greets me.

"How long did you say you've been a expert on ballistics?" I ask.

"17 years." He answers proudly.

"So you're pretty familiar with every type of bullet and shell casing and maybe even wound patterns?" I ask.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Do you mind telling the court what type of gun the victim owned?"

"A Ruger SR22P .22 caliber single action pistol." He testifies. And that's this weapon right here," I walk over and pick up the gun from the desk. "Entered into evidence as the murder weapon exhibit D, correct?" He examines the weapon for a moment before concurring. I walk back to my desk and get the bullet's recovered from Aiden's body.

"Could you tell the court what these are?" I hold up the bag containing two bullets and the casings from the crime scene.

"Those are .22 caliber bullets and casings." He stated.

"These are the bullets that were retrieved out of the victim and the casings from around the victims body." I state for the court holding up the bag, then going and placing it back on the table and picking up the evidence bag with only one bullet in it. "Your Honor, I'd like to submit into evidence 'exhibit g'. A bullet recovered from a neighbors tree that was deemed apart of the shooting by the lead investigator on this case." I say and look over at Scott who rolls his eyes. Of course I would bring this up. How could he think I wouldn't? "Could you tell the court what type of bullet this is?" I ask him, holding the bag in his face for him to examine.

"A .40 caliber bullet." He says taking the bag from my hand.

"And how do you know for sure?" I ask.

"Well if you look at this bullet compared to the .22 caliber bullets you showed me, you would notice a difference in shape as well as size. .22 caliber bullets tend to be on the thinner side and are one of the much smaller calibers. While .40 caliber bullets are thicker in size and tend be a bit more round, than the longer and thinner .22 caliber bullets." He says handing me back the bag.

"Thank you." I say and walk back to the table. "No further questions your honor."

The judge looks at Scott who stands. "No more questions for this witness your honor." He says in a less than pleasing tone. I can't help the smirk that spreads across my face.

"Very well, let's break for lunch and resume at two-thirty pm." Judge Matthenson says and bangs his gavel. We all rise as he leaves the courtroom.

–

For lunch I decided to stay at the courthouse with Spencer so we can... you know... discuss the case and what not.

"We're doing good today, right?" Spencer asks I nod.

"Are you insinuating that I haven't been good every other day?" I ask in a playful tone.

"No." She shakes her head seriously. "As a matter of fact..." She trails off and looks into my eyes. "The exact opposite." She adds in a... I'm going to say seductive tone but I could just be reading this all wrong right now. My mind flashes back to the fantasy I had the other day and I let out an involuntary moan. Spencer smirks. "Ashley." She calls my name. Have I mentioned how much I love it when she calls my name?

No?

Well, here I am telling you.

I fucking love it!

"Hmm?" I ask absent minded-ly, letting my mind re-envision the fantasy.

"Ashley." She calls my name again, making me turn to face her.

"Yes?" I ask. She licks her lips and swallows deeply. Opening her mouth and closing it again like she doesn't know how to say what it is she needs to say. "Everything okay?" She nods quickly.

"I want you to put me on the stand." She says and I shake my head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Spencer." I tell her honestly.

"I'm not afraid." She replies.

"It's no about that. I just..." I sigh. "I don't want Scott to... he can be a real ass." I settle on.

"I know." She nods and smiles. "But I want people to hear my side of the story. I made you believe in me right? Even when things weren't looking so good. You believed me...I want the jury to believe me too. To understand that I didn't do this. I would never kill anyone, especially for money." She says.

I think for a moment, whether this is the best idea or not. I know she isn't going to back down about this.

"Fine." I drawl out.

"Thank you." She smiles. I nod and take another bite of my sandwich. "Ashley." Spencer says after a moment in a low voice.

"Hmm?" I look up and ask.

"I wish-"

"Ashley we need to go." Jackson peeks his head in the room Spencer and I were sitting in enjoying our lunch.

"Okay." I nod to him and turn my attention back to Spencer. "You wish what?" I ask.

She smiles a bit and shakes her head. "How about I'll tell you after you win this case." She says and I inwardly curse Jackson for interrupting us.

"Okay." I nod and smile at her. We finish up our lunch and head back to the courtroom.

Now that Scott was done with all his witnesses, it was my turn...


	18. Gotcha!

Amanda was my first witness I called to the stand after lunch. I wanted to build up Spencer's character a little more before going in for the kill with this witness but I decided I wanted to keep with her while it was all still pretty fresh in the jurors minds.

"Hello again, Ms. James." I greet her with a smirk as I approach the witness stand and she doesn't even try and hide her resentment. In case you're wondering, I'm allowed to subpena a witness that was previously a states witness for my defense if she's relevant to the case. And oh boy is she relevant. "In previous testimonies, you stated that when you arrived at the Dennison residence, you went straight inside and arrested my client, is that correct?"

"Yes." She nods.

"Did you call out and make your presence known?" I ask and she gives me a confused look. "Let me rephrase the question for you Ms. James. When you arrived at the Dennison residence, did you notify the occupants that you were the police before entering?" I ask.

"The defendant called 911 and said that her husband had been shot, I wasn't thinking to ring the doorbell and wait for an answer." She says in a sarcastic tone and some of the court patrons stifle their laughter.

"But isn't it police protocol to announce yourself before entering a private residence?" I ask and she nods. "I'm sorry could you say that out loud for the record please."

"Yes." She says snappy.

"But you didn't do that, did you?" I ask and she rolls her eyes before answering,

"No."

"Do you break protocol often, Ms. James?" She shifts uncomfortably in her chair.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

I smirk and walk away from the witness stand. "Why didn't you check to see if the victim was still alive, Ms. James?" I ask her, turning back to face her.

"I'm sorry, what?" Oh this bitch wants to play dumb.

"Why, upon entering the Dennison residence, did you not check to see if the victim was still breathing?" I ask her in a more forceful tone.

"I don't...I..." I shake my head and quickly walk over to the table and pick up her witness statement.

"People's evidence 'C', you testified in your police statement that you and I quote 'I immediately removed Spencer Dennison from the home, put her in handcuffs and placed her in my squad car, and waited outside the residence for backup to arrive.' Is this or is this not an excerpt from your own personal statement?" I ask.

"Yes."

"So tell me Ms. James," I say placing the paper down on the table and walking back over the her. "Why didn't you check to see if the victim was still breathing? Isn't that police protocol? Isn't that the humane thing to do?" I ask, this time raising my voice a little.

"Objection Your Honor, badgering the witness." Scott says.

"Overruled. Answer the question Ms. James." He instructs her.

"Which one?" She snaps.

"Why didn't you check to see if the victim was still alive?" I ask her again.

"I don't know." She responds. I chuckle a bit to myself and walk away.

"Ms. James, being a police officer-"

"Detective." She corrects me.

"Oh right, how could I forget your recent promotion." I say in a condescending manner. "As a police detective." I say stressing the word. "You carry in your possession,at all times, a department issued weapon correct?"

"No, we only have it when we're on duty." She corrects me.

"Oh." I drawl out slowly, feigning ignorance. So that day you went to the Dennison residence, we've established that you were on duty, correct?"

"Correct." She says and rolls her eyes again.

"So you had your department issued weapon on you then?"

"Yes." She answers in a harsh tone.

"What kind of weapon does the Los Angeles Police Department issue their police officers?" I ask her and she looks every which way but at me. "Ms. James?" I say after a moment of silence. She still doesn't say anything.

"Your Honor." I look at him and gesture to her.

"Answer the question, Ms. James." He tells her in a warning tone. Her jaw clenches and she finally turns back to me.

"A Glock 22." She says and I can see from the corner of my eye Judge Matthenson's eyes go wide.

"And what type of bullets do these Glock 22's use?" I ask.

".40 caliber." She says poking out her lips and rolling her eyes.

"Much like this bullet right?" I ask grabbing the bag with the .40 caliber bullet off the table and holding it up in front of her. "Is this .40 caliber bullet retrieved from the crime scene, the same bullets the Los Angeles police department uses?" I question her again, my voice louder than before.

"Yes!" She practically screams. The courtroom buzzes.

"Order, order!" Judge Matthenson instructs the court as he bangs his gavel.

"No further questions Your Honor." I say and walk back over to my seat. I look over at Scott, who's shaking his head as he searches through his papers looking for something, anything to help him look less like a fool right now.

"Would the state like to readdress this witness?" Judge asks Scott.

"Um...uh...no Your Honor, not at this time." He says and grimaces. He's all but lost this case already.

After I was done with Amanda, I called Spencer's friends and family to the stand one by one to contest to her moral character.

To paint a picture in the jury's head that would show them that Spencer Dennison, formerly Spencer Carlin was just not capable of murder.

Arthur and Paula Carlin, her parents, spoke of her childhood and how once when Spencer was nine she'd found a barely alive frog by the creek behind her childhood home. And how she wanted so badly to save it, that when her father told her it'd be best if he were to put it out of it's misery, nine year old innocent Spencer cried for a week straight.

Kyla Woods, her best friend, spoke of memories they'd made growing up together and even attending college together.

Aaron Parker, an ex boyfriend from eight grade, who remembered Spencer like they spoke and saw each other everyday, spoke of the kindness and goodness that radiated from Spencer, and that even at their young age back then he knew she would grow up to be a wonderful person.

And then I called Spencer to the stand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" The bailiff said, holding out the bible for Spencer to place her hand on.

"I do." Spencer nodded and took her seat. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when she locked eyes with my.

"How are you today, Mrs. Dennison?" I ask and she smiles.

"As good as I can be." She replies lightly.

"Are you a religious person, Mrs. Dennison?" I ask.

"I believe in God, yes." She says and nods.

"So marriage is something that you hold sacred then right?"

"Yes."

"So even when you thought that your husband was cheating on you, you still stayed with him, correct?"

"I believe that marriage is forever, for better or for worse." She says sternly

"What do your beliefs state about murder?"

"Murder is a sin." She says simply.

"And you live by that rule?"

"Yes."

"Did you murder your husband, Mrs. Dennison?"

"No." she shakes her head and looks the members of the jury square in their faces.

"Could you tell the court what happened on the day your husband was murdered?"

"It started out as a normal day. I did some chores and then went up to bed to get some rest. When I came downstairs for a drink of water I found him laying on the floor covered in blood." She says and I can hear the crack in her voice. I don't want to get her too emotional because Scott will pick her apart. So I end my questioning.

"No further questions your honor." I say and go to take a seat as Scott stands and approaches her.

"Mrs. Dennison, were you aware of your husbands two million dollar life insurance policy?" He comes right out of the gate and ask her. Way to skip foreplay, Scott. And he wonders why he never had a chance with me.

"No." Spencer shakes her head. Scott scoffs.

"So you had no idea that your husband had taken out a two million dollar policy on himself in the event of his untimely death, five days prior to the murder?"

"No, I had no idea about any policy." She tells him firmly.

"Were you and Mr. Dennison having problems?"

Spencer shrugs before answering, "I guess the normal things people experience when they get married right out of high school."

"So you were unhappy in your marriage?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you implied it."

"I didn't imply—"

"You suspected your husband of cheating on you right Mrs. Dennison?" He asks, cutting her off.

"Yes." She nods.

"What gave you these suspicions?"

"I don't know, a woman's intuition mostly but he'd lie to me about the most simple things too."

"Like what?"

"Well once I found this receipt in his pocket for an expensive lunch and when I asked him about it, he lied." She answers.

"And that made you quite upset didn't it?"

"Objection." I stand and say and Scott shoots me a look.

"Let me rephrase the question." He says, turning back to Spencer. "How did his constant lying, make you feel?"

"Upset I guess, maybe more disappointed than anything. We used to share everything with each other back in high school, but then things changed when he got promoted at his job."

"So his promotion also made you angry?"

"Objection." I stand and say again. Scott waves me off.

"How did the promotion change you and your husbands relationship?" He rephrases.

"He had longer hours, so I didn't see him much, I had to find hobbies to fill up my days." Scott looks as if he's trying to think of something else to say.

"Were your fingerprints found on the murder weapon, Mrs. Dennison?"

"Yes."

"And the bullet casings found next to the victim, correct?" He asks.

"Yes, but-"

"Did you shoot your husband three times in cold blood because you found out he was cheating on you and you wanted to collect his insurance money." It took everything in me not to stand up and tell Scott to go sit the fuck down. To just leave her alone.

"No." Spencer answers without hesitation.

"No further questions." He says and sits down.

"Redirect Your Honor." He gestures me to go on. "Spencer, what were you doing at the time your husband was murdered? I only ask because there were three gunshots fired and you didn't hear any of them, so what were you doing?"

"I was asleep." She answers.

"You sleep that heavily?"

"I'd taken some sleeping pills to help me sleep." She answers.

"Why'd you take sleeping pills?"

"I'd been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately so my doctor prescribed them for me."

"So it's safe to say that there could have been a stampede in your house and you wouldn't have known?" I ask and she smiles.

"You'd be correct."

"Mrs. Dennison, were you aware that your husband kept a weapon in the house?" I ask and she nods.

"It was a purchase that we'd decided to make together about two years ago after our neighbors' home was broken into." She tells the court and I get so mesmerized by her voice, I forget it's my turn to speak.

"Counselor?" The judge says with a confused look on his face.

Shit.

"So you've probably touched the gun before?" I ask, snapping out of it.

"Many times. I often check just to make sure the safety is on. I don't particularly like guns but I know that it was something we needed to have around, especially when Aiden working so much."

"What about the bullets, you ever touch those?"

"Yes. I purchased the bullets and loaded them into the gun myself."

"Have you ever shot a gun Mrs. Dennison?"

"No, I haven't actually." She says shaking her head.

"No further questions."

"Court will resume tomorrow morning at seven am." The judge says and bangs his gavel.

"What's left?" Spencer asks me as she walks to the table from the witness stand.

"That's it." I tell her. "We'll give our closing arguments and then it'll be up to the jury." She nods.

"You think we're gonna win this?" I don't know. I planted plenty of doubt into the jurors minds. I just hope they see it.

"Thank you, Ashley." She says reaching out and grabbing my hand that was resting at my side. "I really appreciate all you've done for me and no matter what happens after this, I'm glad that you were my attorney." She smiles a dazzling smile at me. And that was all the assurance I needed. I felt a renewed sense of confidence.

We're totally gonna win this...


	19. The Verdict

This is the next to last chapter my people. I love you all and this has been a fun story to write and I have loved reading your comments about it. I'm so glad you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. :) Happy reading.

* * *

A closing argument, my father once told me, is the last chance to play God.

A final chance to conjure up something good out of nothingness. Or in this case...something minute. In this case, my task is not so overwhelming.

After Amanda's James's testimony the vultures were buzzing. They'd run a story last night on the whole trial, and how, and I quote, 'Ashley Davies, lethal questioning sends newly initiated police detective reeling.' I'd all but had this case won... in my opinion.

But sometimes things don't go as we expect them too.

As I stood to make my way over to the podium to address the jury, I felt pretty confident. I courteously acknowledged Scott and the Judge, expressed my appreciation to the jurors for their attention and began speaking. With a semi-forceful and authoritative voice I started, "On September 16th , Aiden Dennison died in a horrible tragedy. His life was cut short and for that I am truly and deeply sorry, but you must not compound a terrible tragedy by finding an innocent woman guilty of murder." I step from behind the podium and move closer to the jury. "Let me take you back to when this trial began a few days ago. At this time, Mr. Williams made a number of promises to you. He said he would prove that Mrs. Dennison, beyond a shadow of a doubt committed this crime, because of greed and other factors. He said he would prove that Mrs. Dennison was a liar and a cold-blooded murder. He said he would prove all of this—beyond a reasonable doubt, when in fact, he has proven none of this." Gesturing passionately, I continued to speak. "His witnesses proved nothing more than that a crime took place, yes, Mrs. Dennison's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, but it was a family owned firearm. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dennison's fingerprints were on it. Yes, there was blood on her hands, shoes and clothes: after coming downstairs from a nap Mrs. Dennison found her husband laying lifeless on the floor, who wouldn't expect her to kneel and check for a pulse. Something the first responding police officer did not." I say and turn to look out at the court patrons. Amanda was not present. Figures. "I have shown you over the past few days that the State's case against my client is merely circumstantial at best. These accusations have not been proven in anyway in this courtroom today or any other day. You have heard testimonies from her friends and family, allowing you to see the person Mrs. Dennison truly is. A kind and loving person, that even after she found out her husband was cheating on her, continued to love and cherish him because marriage is something she holds sacred. Now, does that sound like a killer to you? Someone that could shoot someone she loves three times in cold blood. No!" I state firmly, slamming my left fist into my right hand. "It doesn't and we all can see that clearly. So I ask you, the great people of the jury, to examine all the evidence, replay every testimony in your minds as you are making a decision regarding the life of my client. Her life is literally now in your hands." I tell them and end on that note. I thank them for their attention and take a seat. After taking my seat, Scott stood and approached the podium.

After ritually acknowledging the judge, myself and the jury, he began to speak. "You know, Ms. Davies was right about one thing. I don't feel as though I have done all I can to prove to you that Mrs. Dennison absolutely killed her husband." He shakes his head and looks at each member of the jury. "But I want you to look at the facts and decide for yourselves. Mrs. Dennison was in the home at the time of the murder, even she admitted to that." He says and starts to count them off on his fingers. "The victims blood was found all over her person." Two. "When dialing 911 about her dead husband laying on the floor bleeding to death, she sounded as if she couldn't have cared less, does that sound like a person who loved and cherished their husband?" Three. "The weapon used in the crime was that of one Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, which they kept in a secret location that only the two of them knew about." Four. "And last, Mrs. Dennison believed that her husband was cheating on her. She believed it and she used it. She used it as motivation to kill him and the two million dollar insurance policy she claims to know nothing about was just a bonus." Five. He finishes and hold five fingers in the air above his head. "Five reasons to convict." Is all he says then sits down. All throughout his closing argument, I scrutinized the jury, searching for any signs of positive response. During a brief recess, while the judge gave the jury instructions, I talked to Spencer.

"Are you okay?" I ask her and she nods.

"You?" She questions.

"Yeah." I nod. "I think we can win this Spencer, I really do." I tell her and she smiles a bit.

"Me too." She nods firmly. "You're an amazing person, Ashley. I'm not sure if I've told you this but I really think you are. And I can't thank you enough for doing this for me." She smiles and I swoon.

"Spencer, I need to tell you something." I start and Jackson interrupts me.

"Ashley don't." He says in a pleading tone. He's right, I shouldn't. Not with all these listening ears around, but right now I don't care.

"I need to, Jack." I inform him. Spencer looks between the pair of us, confused.

"After we win, Ash." He says and I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Fine." I say and sit back.

"What's going on?" Spencer asks and both Jackson and I roll our eyes and ignore her question.

–

For Scott, waiting for the jury's decision seemed worse than waiting for a surgeon to complete a life-threatening operation. As least surgeons got it done relatively quickly. Immediately after his closing argument, I could tell he was nervous. Yeah, Scott spoke a big game but he's only been an ADA for two years, opting to take his bar a year after graduating from Law School instead of immediately. I'd done this plenty times before... waiting... hoping...but I don't think I've ever been this nervous before about a verdict. This verdict can literally change my life, and as a defense attorney I know that I'm not supposed to get so invested in my clients but with Spencer it's like... she pulls you in; with her eyes, smiles, the way her forehead wrinkles up when she's confused, the way she says my name, how good she can make orange jumpsuits look. Everything about her entices me. Makes me want to get to know her so much more. And honestly, there was nothing I could do about it.

The rendition took place shortly after 5 P.M. Judge Matthenson initiated the ritual by solemnly declaring, "Ladies and gentlemen, I understand the jury has reached a verdict. Madam forewoman, please rise. The defendant please rise." Spencer and I both rose, along with the forewoman, the 35 year old mother of two. "Madame forewoman, please listen carefully to the clerk of our court as he asks you questions concerning the verdict," ordered Matthenson.

The clerk, standing at her desk to the right of the judge, spoke in loud bass monotone: "Has the jury reached a verdict in the case of the people of the State of California versus Spencer Dennison, the defendant?"

"Yes we have," said the forewoman.

"How does the jury find the defendant on the charge of murder in the first degree?"

"We the people of the jury find the defendant Spencer Dennison..." She paused dramatically and looked up at Spencer for a moment. My heart was beating faster than I think it ever has before. I could see it beating through the front of my blouse and I could hear it too. I guess so could Spencer because she grabbed my hand tightly and squeezed.

"It's okay," she mumbled. I released a breath and prepared myself.

"...not guilty." The forewoman says and a collective sigh of relief fills the court room on Spencer's side. Anguish and disappointment filled the other. I could hear Spencer sigh out an 'oh my God.' from beside me as the Judge thanked the jury for their service and dismissed the court.

Scott, with effort, pushed his way from the table and made his way over to Aiden's parents, "I'm sorry." He mumbled to them. The nodded solemnly and stood up from the bench they were sitting on and walked out of the courtroom.

"Well played, Davies." He says to me, holding out his hand for me to shake.

"I told you I would win." I tell him, confidence evident in my tone. Although, on the inside, my stomach was doing somersaults. Scott smiled and nodded once before walking out the courtroom.

I turned to Spencer. "We won." She says in a soft voice.

"We did." I nod and smile. We stare at each other for a while and I'm faintly aware of the flashing lights around us. The paparazzi getting all the photo's they would need for their front cover features tomorrow.

"I'm gonna go, I'll see you at the office tomorrow." Jackson says to me and I absent-mindedly nod to him before he leaves.

"Spencer..." I call her name and swallow the lump in my throat.

"Yes?" She asks in a low raspy tone.

"I need to tell you something." I admit.

"I'm listening." She replies. Both of us aware of all the eyes on us and constant flashing of the camera lights.

"I want to-"

"Wait." she shakes her head, cutting me off.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Not here, not like this." She tells me grabbing my hand.

"Spencer but I need to-"

"No." She cuts me off again. "I'll come by your office tomorrow and if you still want to tell me, I promise to listen." She says before hugging me then leaving to go join her away parents and Kyla, who pulled her into a big hug.

I knew what I was feeling... I just hated that I had to wait an entire night to tell Spencer.

–

"She said she's coming Ashley, calm down." Jackson tells me in an amused tone. I got to work an entire fou..fiv...okay fine, I slept here.

Sue me!

"But when?" I practically whine out as I pace the length of my office.

"Ashley calm down." He chuckles.

"Don't tell me to calm down, you calm down, I'm calm. I'm beyond calm." I scream out. "Telling me to calm down... ha! I'm calm you're the one that needs to—"

"Ashley." I turn in the direction of my office door and see Spencer standing there.

"I'm gonna go." Jackson says getting up from the chair he was sitting in and leaves the room.

"Hi." I breathe out as she closes the door and walks closer to me.

"Hi." She replies with a smile. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here, I was with my parents and then-"

"You don't have to explain." I shake my head.

"I know." She nods and moves closer to me. "But I wanted you to know that I wasn't blowing you off."

"I didn't-"

"Ashley." She cuts me off.

"Hmm?" I question.

"Tell me what you want." She says in a seductive tone. Moving impossibly closer to me. I suppress a moan when she grabs my hand that was resting at my side.

"Spencer I-"

"Just tell me what. you. want." She says, this time with more conviction. Like she needed to hear it... she needed me to say the words.

"You..." I say finally through an audible sigh.

"Why?" She asks in a soft voice, looking me square in my eyes.

How could she even ask me that?

I grab her hands and bring them up to my chest, "Because you're amazing. How can you not see it?" I ask her, shaking my head. A small smile played at her lips for a moment before her eyes fluttered shut and she sighed.

"Ashley." She says, keeping her eyes shut. I mumble a hmm? "Kiss me." she says, barely audible. I waste no time complying. Pressing my lips to hers. The kiss was slow and sensual and it didn't last long but that didn't change the things it was doing to my heart. We pulled back and I opened my eyes, studying her face. She'd never looked so beautiful. After a moment her eyes opened and she smiled.

"Amazing." She breathed out. I smile wider, pulling her closer to me into a hug.

"Right." I say after a moment.

"I was wondering counselor Davies," She says, pulling back looking me in my eyes. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?" She asks and I smile.

"I would love to Mrs. Dennison."

"Actually, I think I'll just go by Carlin now." She tells me.

"Can I ask you something?" I say as I grab my suit jacket off the back of the chair and put it on.

"Sure." She nods.

"You've never..." I trail off trying to figure out the right way to ask the question I'm trying to ask. I furrow my brows and start over. "If you've been with men all your life, how do you know you like me?" I ask timidly and she smiles wide.

"I've always been a firm believer that it's what's on the inside that counts." She says and kisses my lips.

"Amazing." I say, draping my arm around her shoulder as we walk out of my office.

"Wait." I stop us before we get completely out my office door.

"What is it?" She turns to me and asks.

"That day we were having lunch at the courtroom you told me that you wished something but you never got to finish. What were you going to say?" I ask and she smiles brightly.

"That I wished you would stop staring at my lips and just kiss me." She says and this time I smile.

"Oh." Is all I can manage. "Madison, take the rest of the week off." I tell her and she smiles.

"Yes boss."

I don't think I'm going to be coming back into work this week.


	20. Perfection: Epilogue

This is the final chapter my friends...I'm truly sad to see this story end because it was a pleasure to write and I'm glad everyone enjoyed it!

**Annais81**: I'm glad you enjoy all my works! Wow, the best chapter in any story? That touched my heart, thank you so much. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**Ohsoclever1: **I agree, after that case she definitely needs some time off. Glad you liked Spencer's line lol. I promise more Spashley in the next chapter.

**sarahlynn00: **Aw. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I don't want it to end either. Believe me. I wish I could write this story forever.

**Cornish: **You'll find out. lol. Touch down lmao. I laughed out loud when I read that.

**pati1996: **Yeah. I'm sad it's over too :(

**MsBlaze: **Sign in before you review hoe! smh. lol I Love you!

**southtrash: **Honestly, when I started writing this and was contemplating a sequel I was gonna have Spencer get convicted and then the sequel would be Ashley appealing and trying to figure out who the real killer was but then I was like I like it much better this way. I'm a sucker for happy endings.

**Guest: **lol I clap my hands like a giddy school girl all the time.

**Tam24: **I never have been a fan of lawyers. No offense to any lawyers out there. I just think most of them a cutthroat and shady.

**A: **You're welcome.

**Ashley white: **I'm glad you thought it was awesome hehe.

**Chillaxin1: **I'm glad you enjoyed the story. lol that would have been funny if Spencer would said that lol. you will find out in this chapter! :)

**LoveAsh87: **I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you like this chapter too. :)

* * *

"Babe come quick, you're on TV." Spencer calls to me from the living room.

"Ashee, Ashee, loooook, it's you!" Matty says jumping up and down, pointing at the TV, when I emerge from the kitchen.

"I see buddy, I see." I chuckle at him and take a seat on the couch next to him and Spencer.

_'I was just doing what any other lawyer would have done.' _I answer the news reporter on the television.

After the trial I pressured the Chief of Police for a month into doing a ballistics test on Amanda James's weapon. Turns out it was a match to the bullet that was recovered from the scene. She was arrested and spilled everything. She and Aiden were having an affair, and although Aiden promised her that he would leave Spencer to be with her, he later changed his mind and told Amanda that they could no longer see each other. She didn't like that very much. The day that Aiden was killed, he'd called her and told her that he was going to tell his wife about the affair and that he never wanted to speak to her again. She said that she snapped and went over there, not intending to kill him that it just kinda happened. Personally, I believe she did it because a scandal like this would have ruined her chances of making detective.

Now I guess it doesn't even matter.

"Aw baby, you look so cute." Spencer says and leans over and kisses me. My cheeks burn red.

"I don't understand why they keep showing this, it was four months ago." I shake my head and stand up.

"It's cause they know how much I love my girlfriend and..." She says, pulling me back down next to her on the couch. "...you look so hot and confident, it turns me on." She whispers seductively in my ear.

Ahh! My pussy jumps. After five months of dating she still has that affect on me.

"Matty buddy." I say shooting up from the couch and Spencer giggles below me. "Want some ice cream now?" I ask and he nods and dashes into the kitchen.

"You're cruel..." I shake my head and smile at her.

"I love you." She calls out to me as I walk into the kitchen. I shake my head, but say it back.

"I guess I love you too." I throw back over my shoulder.

–

"So when does it come out?" Jackson asks excitedly.

"Jack, will you shut up about that." I tell my friend with a playful smile.

"Noooo." He shakes his head. "It's not every day that a really good friend of mine get's not only a feature but the front page of _Los Angeles Lawyer._" He says and I laugh at him.

"It's no big deal." I shake my head.

"No big deal." He says and stands from the chair he was sitting in. "No big deal?!" He says louder. I can't help but giggle at him.  
"You're being a little dramatic, don't you think?" I ask him quirking a brow.

He sighs and sits down. "You're being a little blasé, don't _you_ think? Not only did you win one of the biggest cases of your career but you, found the real killer, you got the girl, aaaaaaaand you're one of the most respected lawyers on this side of Texas."

"Like I said, no big deal." I say and shrug.

"You're crazy, Ash." He says and stands up.

"Mhm." I say with a smile. "You still coming to dinner tonight with me and Spence, right?" I ask and he nods.

"Yep, I'll be there."  
"What about Aisha?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah, she's coming too." He shrugs. I laugh at shake my head at him.

"Why is she an after thought, Jack? I thought you two were doing good?" I question him.

"We are." He shrugs again. I'm confused.

"So what's the-"

"She told me she loved me." He says cutting me off. Oh.

"And you don't..." I trail off.

"No, I do." He says sitting back down in the chair.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is, that I'm in love with her. I don't fall in love Ash, you know that."

I shrug, "Things are changing, Jack. We've both done a lot of growing up over the past few months. Embrace it." I tell him and smile. He shakes his head but can't help the smile that comes to his face.

"Some more than others." He says and stands again. "I'll see you tonight, Davies." He says walking to my door.

"Don't be late." I yell at his retreating figure.

"Mrs. Davies your mother is on line two." Madison tells me over the intercom.

"Thank you, Madison." I reply as I press the number two button on my phone. "Hello, mother." I greet her.

"Ashley dear, how are you?" My mother says in a surprisingly pleasant tone.

"Uh...I'm fine mother." I answer, a little befuddled.

"I was wondering if you were able to watch Matthew again tomorrow afternoon?" She asks and I roll my eyes. Spencer and I have been keeping him every day from eight in the morning until past five while my mother does...does...actually, I have no idea what she does because she retired from being a lawyer. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with Matty it's just that... you'd have to know my mom to understand. Spencer loves spending time with him too but I feel like my mom is starting to forget that he's her son, not ours.

"For what mom?" I ask her and she sighs.

"Will you do it or not, Ashley?" She asks, her tone changing from pleasant to impatient.

"Of course." I shake my head and sigh. I'd rather have him with me then some random stranger she'd hire to keep him.

"Thanks honey." Her voice is pleasant again. "You're a doll." She adds and hangs up. I feel so bad for Matty, he doesn't have a father and he has a mother, if you can even call her that, that barely wants him.

"Madison." I call over the intercom.

"Yes, Mrs. Davies?"

"Could you come into my office for a moment, there's something I need you to do."

"Right away."

–

"And when exactly were you going to tell me about this?" Spencer asks, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I shrug, "It's really no big deal, Spence." I tell her and she steps back and gasp. I turn to face her.

"It certainly _is_ a big deal, you're going to be on the cover of _Los Angeles Lawyer,_ that's huge, Ash."

"None of that matters to me," I shake my head and move closer to her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to me. "The only thing I care about is the fact that I get to come home to you, every. single. night." I say and kiss her lips sweetly.

"No fair." She whines but kisses me back. "You're using your sweet lady kisses to make me not mad at you." She says and I peck her lips again.

"I seem to recall last night that you quite enjoyed these sweet lady kisses." I say pulling back, raising a brow.

"Never said I didn't." She says and pulls me back into another kiss. "I just said you're being unfair." She smirks as Matthew bursts into the kitchen.

"Ashee, Ashee! I won, I won!" He yells and leaps into my arms.

"Won what buddy?" I giggle and sit him down.

"The game. I murdered those guys like bam bam." He says and acts like he's shooting a gun and ducks to avoid his pretend foes return fire.

"Matty who bought you a shooting game?" I ask, knowing that I wasn't the one who did.

"Uncle Jack." He says and I shake my head.

"Matty you know I don't like you playing those kind of games." I tell him sternly.

"But uncle Jack-"

"Uncle Jack, knows better as well." I tell him.

"Fiiiine." He drawls out sadly. I ruffle his hair and kiss his cheek.

"We can go to the store and get you some new games tomorrow." I tell him and he perks up.

"Yay." He shrieks and claps his hands together before hugging my leg and running off. Spencer and I giggle at his retreating figure.

"That little boy adores you, you know?" Spencer says wrapping her arms around my neck.

"About as much as I adore him." I smile and kiss her. "I need to ask you something, but first we need to get ready for dinner."

–

"I still can't believe you're going to be on the cover of _Los Angesles Lawyer_." Jackson says, taking a sip of his wine.

This again?

"It's no big deal, Jack." I drawl out. "Can we just have a nice dinner without you bringing up these things?" I ask him and he rolls his eyes but nods.

"So Spencer," Aisha turns to Spencer and says. "How's life after near calamity?" She asks and Spencer looks at me and smiles.

"I'd say it's going pretty great." She responds and kisses me sweetly.

"I concur." I agree with my girlfriend, as we both cheese heavily, staring into each others eyes.

"Ahem." Jackson clears his throat. "As much as we'd like to sit here and look at you two stare at each other all day, our food is here." We turn and see the waiter standing beside the table with our food in his hand.

"Sorry." We both smile and mumble out. Sometimes it's just hard _not_ to look at her.

–

"Do you really think your mom is going to go for this?" Spencer asks and I purse my lips and shrug.

"I don't know. I mean, it's not like she takes care of him anyways. He's been over here like every day for the past few weeks." I say.

"But he's her kid, Ash. You can't just expect her to give him up."

"I know." I nod. "I just... I want what's best for the little guy. I've really grown to love him so much the past few weeks." I tell her through a sigh.

"I know." She nods and kisses my cheek.

"I'm gonna finish cooking this, how about you go and relax." I tell her.

"Ash, you're the one that has to work all day, I should be cooking _you_ breakfast." She says pointedly and I smile.

"Go." I shew her. "I got this." I say and she rolls her eyes playfully but exits the kitchen.

"What time is your mother bringing him over?" Spencer asks from the living room.

"Should be any minute now." I yell back to her and as if on cue, the doorbell to my condo rings.

"I got it!" Spencer yells to me and I smile and shake my head. Of course she does.

"Spencer!" I hear Matty yell and he probably leaped into Spencer's arms like he usually does. My mother must have asked Spencer where I was because I heard her say 'In the kitchen.' A few seconds later my mother came in. Dressed in an expensive designer dress with high heels that made her seem seven feet tall. She always did like to feel superior to others.

"Hello, mother." I greet her in a pleasant tone. I don't want to ruin this before I even have the chance to ask the question.

"Hello, daughter." She replies in an equally pleasant tone. I guess she's having a good day.

"Did you need something?" I ask her as she takes a seat at a stool positioned in front of the island.

"No dear, just checking in." She says and flashes a smile. See where I get it from?

"Okay." I nod as I turn the bacon over in the pan.

"Very well, I'll be back to pick up Matthew at seven." She says and stands. Seven? We agreed on five...

"Mom." I call out to her as she turns to leave. It was now or never.

"Yes?" She asks, turning around with a brow quirked. Waiting for me to say what I needed to say.

"I wanted to ask you something." I tell her, taking the pan off the heat and walking around the counter.

"What is it?" She questions.

"It's about Matty." I say and she takes a seat back on a stool.

"What about, Matthew?" She asks.

I sigh and sit down next to her, "I know you love Matty mom, I'm not doubting that. But I also know that you're busy and have a lot of things on your plate with the new husband and vacationing and stuff." I say trying to sound as pleasant as possible, even though I think what she's doing is absolutely ridiculous.

"And?" She gestures for me to continue.

"Well, I love Matty too. And so does Spencer, you know that right?"

"Yes." She nods. "Ashley, will you just get to the point already." She says and I clear my throat, which has suddenly become dry.

"I want to become Matty's legal guardian." I rush out my words and I'm not entirely sure if she understood me or not. She stands and sighs, so I'm guessing she got the gist. "I love Matty mom and I know that you have a lot going on and I'm not faulting you for that all I'm saying is... Matty's a great kid mom and he needs... he deserves to be loved and paid attention too. I had my secretary draw up, these papers yesterday." I say and get up to grab the papers from my briefcase on the table. "All you'd have to do is sign right here." I say, pointing at a line. She looks up at me for a moment, then at the paper with a conflicted look before averting her gaze. "You could visit him when you want mom, I'd have no problem with that. But he'd live here and he'll have people that really care for him here. Spencer absolutely adores him." I say and she scoffs. I know she doesn't approve of my lifestyle but she can't deny the bond that Matty and Spencer have made. It's remarkable really. But I guess Spencer is made that way...easy to love...hard to let go of.

"Ashley, this is..." She turns and says to me then shakes her head.

"I know this is a lot to take in and if you need time to think it over I'd understand but-" She holds her hand up and cuts me off. She takes a seat back on the stool.

"When I had Matty, I was on the verge of becoming one of the greatest lawyers this state has ever seen and it had only taken me ten years to do it." She says and I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not. "I resented him for a while. Blaming him for my career falling apart, for not being able to be the lawyer that I knew I could be." She looks into the living room and I follow her line of sight. Matty is chasing Spencer around the living room yelling for her to 'slow down cause she's got super speed and it's no fair.' A small smile escapes her lips before she turns her attention back to me. "But then I realized that my career had been over before he was even born. I was a 35 year old Defense Attorney who barely got assigned to cases that mattered. You were still in Law School and you were already a better attorney than I was. You've always been good at everything you've set your mind too." She says, looking straight at me. I believe those are the nicest words my mother has even spoken to me. "You're like your father in so many ways and you don't even know it." She adds and stands up.

"Mom, I-"

"Matthew is lucky." She says cutting me off again, taking the paper and pen out of my hands. "He's going to be surrounded by love." She says and signs the papers. "You're a beautiful person, Ashley." She says handing me back the papers. "With a beautiful and pure heart. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it." She places a hand to my cheek, letting it linger there before giving me a small smile and exiting the kitchen. "Come give me a hug goodbye, Matthew." She says and he does just that. Squeezing her leg tightly. She pulls him off her leg and bends down to his eye level. I lean on the kitchen door frame and watch the scene unfold in front of me. "Mommy loves you, okay?" She says and he nods. "Know that mommy only wants what's best for you, Matt, okay?" She asks and he nods again.

"I love you too mommy." He says and hugs her neck. She wipes a fallen tear and stands up and wordlessly exits my condo. Spencer's eyes immediately find mine.

"Baby, you're crying." She rushes to me and says. I hadn't even noticed. I wipe my face with my shirt. "What's wrong? Did she say no?" She asks and I shake my head.

"She said yes." I tell her through sniffles.

"Then what's-"

"I'm just so fucking happy!" I exclaim and a smile spreads across her face.

"You have no idea." She says and kisses my lips.

"Oooo, Ashee said a bad word..." Matty says from the living room. Spencer and I giggle then walk hand in hand to sit down on the couch next to him.

"That's right buddy, I said a bad word. I'm sorry." I say and pinch his cheek. He slaps my hand away.

"Asheeeeeee." He says in an embarrassed tone, looking over at Spencer.

"Sorry buddy." I say and look at Spencer who just shrugs. "Matty, I have something I want to ask you okay?" I say and he nods. "Well, I was wondering...Spencer and I were wondering..." I say grabbing Spencer's hand. "How would you like to come stay with us?" He gives me a confused look then raises one brow.

"Like forever?" He asks.

I nod and smile. "Like forever." I answer. He doesn't say anything for a moment like he's thinking it over. I look at Spencer who shrugs again and smiles at him. Yeah, he's definitely my little brother, us Davies are always going for the dramatics.

"Awesome!" He screams suddenly, and shoots up from the couch.

"So you want to?" I ask.

"Yeaaaah." He says and starts running around the couch in circles, screaming 'woo hoo' over and over.

"I guess he likes the idea." Spencer states with a smile.

"I guess so." I say and kiss her lips.

For once in my life I have every I want; a booming career, a girlfriend I love more than anything, and Matty...my little angel.

I don't think life could get any more perfect...


End file.
